


Inspector Frisk in Bonedemonium

by BlackWolf2Dragoon



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Attempted Written Hot Make-out Sesh Ahead!, F/M, Gangstatale, Hate Crime, Humans Vs Monsters, M/M, Moralising Murder, Murder, Police Frisk, Racism, Rating May Change, Sans the Mob Boss, Stalking, Think Al Capone, Warnings May Change, mafiatale, maybe smut?, mild sexism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8859865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackWolf2Dragoon/pseuds/BlackWolf2Dragoon
Summary: New to Ebbott, Inspector Frisk Fanshaw picks up on a number of cold murder cases that had been discarded, despite not being solved nor even looked at. Determined to show she was as good a police officer as anyone else in Ebbott's force, she takes on these cold murder cases. Unlucky for her, she doesn't realise how things work in the city of Ebbott with  a high monster population, compared to the human ratio living in Ebbott. She is soon to find out the hard way. Sorry not sorry for the title. SMUT FOR CHAPTER 9? MAYBE.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I have been working on this for a long time. Then, I kinda forgot about it. I had 5,000 words written out and lovely. Then I forgot about it. I left it to rot on my laptop. Whilst writing my other fics, I came across it again, read it and decided that I would finish it. 
> 
> NEEDLESS TO SAY, I got carried away. It was meant to be a one shot, but slowly it crept to 7,000 words and I realised it'll be better off as a short multi chapter story. SO, here we go! I have no idea if this is any good or not, but I love writing Police Frisk so much~ If you have read my multi chapter fic, Monsters Aren't Real, you will be aware of what kind of person she is :P yeah I figure a female Frisk is the way for me to go. One day, I shall try a male Frisk. But not today :P 
> 
> I needed to write a confident Sans, the opposite really of how he normally is (well, sorta?) I just love the idea of a cocky confident arsehole Sans. Thus, this was born! People wanted a murder mystery too, so here we are, this is my take on it! :P The worst murder mystery in the world~
> 
> This will be only a short story, in terms of chapters. Possibly three. There is no schedule to updating this either, I update when I update P: Sorry guys, I can make no promises!
> 
> Rating may change, not sure whether to add Smut or not. You decide! (If it's a tie I probably won't though, because smut is not the aim of this game~) With that, enjoy please! ^^

Chapter 1  


This was becoming rather troublesome. At first, I thought this would be a great opportunity; a promotion in moving up in the ranks and getting to a new place, in the big city of Ebbott. It seemed like a fantastic idea at the time, I would be tackling more than just some druggies on the street harassing trees and lampposts, along with men harassing women and I teach them having a vagina ain't all it's cracked up to be. No, the city's biggest problem I am quickly coming to realise is that the city really isn't run by the police. You know, most expect cities to be safe, in total control and that crime is tackled down in near an instant because cities seem to be a hive for cops. Well, that's what I thought anyway. Turns out, this city had an entirely different problem.

I came to notice, doing some boring sorting out paperwork, that there was a strange number of cold cases that, when I looked at them, seemed relatively straightforward, but little to no action had taken place for that crime. This one, where a Dennis Harris, poor bastard had been off'd right outside a place called Muffet's Bakery at 1:37am. How interesting that someone would be shot and murdered in a place with that name, that was pretty public too I gather by the name and the fact it's a bakery. Bringing it up to my superior officer, Gregory Lanshaw, did absolutely nothing as he tells me it is a cold case as no evidence was turned up and nobody really cared aka the victim had no family or friends to speak of to follow up on the case. So, I decided since there was something he was hiding away from me, I would investigate and find out what the problem is.

This was probably my first and worst mistake.

Muffet proved to be difficult.

"Teehee! Want a donut hunnie?" She giggled in her hand, one of eight of them. Oh yes, did I mention Ebbott was monster central? Yup, but that didn't bother me, monster hate crime was the lowest here since the monsters outweigh the humans in population here. I was pretty sure that monsters inhabited places where even us humans don't really reach, I'm sure they live happily in the South Pole whilst we struggle to even breathe there.

"Uh, no, thank you again, Miss Muffet." I restrained myself, trying to keep myself composed in front of the bakery owner. She had accepted my invite when I had introduced myself as DI , but had been anything but helpful so far. She claimed she knew nothing about a gun going off as she was at home, she saw nothing in her security cameras (there was one pointing where his body found, liar) and kept trying to offer me cupcakes and donuts. No, I was not a copper who liked her donuts, but Greg sure did. "Muffet, please, try to remember anything from the attack. Anything at all could be helpful!" I begged, yes I had reached that point of begging for something, anything, at this point.

But Muffet informed me that she had nothing else to tell me, none of her workers were here, she wasn't here, her video had nothing and she had given it in to police before and never had it back, so there was nothing she could do. Sighing, I thanked her, giving her a hand shake and I left with a cup of coffee she offered for free. 'For the troubles', she said. If she was lying, there was nothing I could do to prove it. I had nothing to go on. So, what was I to do? Maybe a break. I had parked my car rather far, as being in the city there was nowhere decent to park it other than the massive car parks that seemed seedy as all hell. I certainly hoped nobody had the balls to touch a police car, let's just say that.

It was ten minutes of walking before I realised I was being followed. It hadn't clicked at first, I wasn't really used to people following me, but that creepy feeling at the back of my neck hadn't stopped the entire walk. I didn't look behind, something in my soul told me not to. Instead, I wondered if I could catch the bastard out. So, I took a sudden turn, away from the main pathway, down an alleyway, a thin one where I could no doubt spot the stalker. I travelled a little down the way, just to be out of the public eye and got my pistol ready. A mere precaution, we weren't allowed to shoot unless in self defence, I'll have you know.

It didn't take long, before a short figure appeared around the corner. He, I think, walked a little more into the alleyway, before he looked around. That's when I took the chance to come out of hiding, my gun raised at him. "Hands up where I can see them!" I informed him, pointing my hand gun at him in warning, the safety off just in case he tried to pull a fast one.

The stalker hardly seemed alarmed, a short fella and monster. A skeleton actually, reaching 5'4" wearing a blue parka, simple gym shorts and vans shoes with their laces untied. He looked pretty sloppy, honestly, his skeletal hands up, his white pupil thing eyes whatever brighter as he took in my figure. All 5'5 of me, female, clearly, in full police uniform, a gun pointing at his face and low cut just under the ears hair, brown. Police hat on just the right place, picture perfect.

He stared, for a  long time, blinking, his eye sockets closing like they were his eyes and not just eye sockets. Then, he spoke, a wide grin appearing on his face. "hey, doll." New York accent, so he was a long way from home. And yet, stalking the way he did, he acted as if he owned the place. "i wouldn't keep that gun pointed to me if i was you." He warned, before winking at me, his teeth grinning wider as he did.

That, I hadn't expected that. It was enough of a surprise for me to lower my gun slightly. "What in the world are you-?" I began, but quickly realised I had done a horrid mistake. I had figured I was safe because I was hidden in a small little alleyway, but I underestimated their ability. Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind, two arms grabbing mine, pulling the gun away and another covered my mouth with a cloth I knew had to be filled with some kind of chloroform.

It was a blur at that point, I fought, like a wild animal cornered, fighting for my life, terrified out of my wits. All that was running through my mind was the possibility of my life ending. All those gang films, or being kidnapped in books, all those scenes of torture ran through my mind caused my panic to worsen. I couldn't help it, I knew they were exaggerated but I couldn't shut my mind off when I was fighting for my life, trying to shout, scream, catch attention, anything!

Nobody came.

Next thing I knew, shaking my head, making the suddenly existing headache worse, I was somewhere dark. Not quite pitch black, but the room was large enough that I couldn't see the walls. My eyes eventually adjusted enough to spot a desk in front of me, wooden, empty. I was sat on a chair, also wooden, though my hands were not tied behind my back to my surprise. I didn't get much chance to survey the room anymore than I had, as the lights in the room turned on. Hissing, I covered my eyes to protect them from the rays of harsh light.

"so you're awake. heh, you're a tough cookie, sweetheart." That New Yorker. Looking straight ahead, I see him, standing with his hands in his pockets with such a nonchalant aura around him. He was standing in front of his chair, ready to sit down, but doesn't for whatever reason he himself knew.

Already, I was on high alert. Well, this dude did just kidnap me, stalked me, had intended to get to me from the start for some reason. Who else has enough balls to attempt anything on a cop? "Buddy, really. If you wanted a chat with me so badly, you could've just come ask me." Yeah, antagonise the monster, what a fantastic idea, Frisk. "Now you're facing charges of assaulting an officer, and that's the very least of your problems."

Skeleton dude didn't seem to care, a massive grin on his face as he sits down, his hands coming out of his pockets, only for one to fall flat on the table in front of me, and his other to hold his head up. "naw, s'ok i'm sure you'll come to forgive me. i'm a pretty nice guy once you get to know me." What was this douche bag talking about? "look, kid, you seem nice, a little naive though, but i can let it slide. this is  a pro monster city you're guarding, kid. what're ya doing figuring out why a monster hater died?"

Dennis whatever was a monster hater? He seemed utterly unremarkable from the file I read. "Wait, how did you know I was even investigating a murder?"

This guy smirked, his grin becoming almost sharp. "may not have ears, but i can listen pretty well. look, bud, just drop it. nobody cared about that guy anyway, not when he almost killed a monster kid."

I didn't care that he was trying to justify the reason for Dennis' murder. I was pretty sure that this skeleton knew exactly what happened to Dennis outside of Muffet's shop, but he wasn't telling. He didn't seem at all threatened by me, I didn't exactly blame him, but he was leaving it so obvious that he was clearly involved in Dennis' disappearance that it had me worried. He didn't seem like the boasting type, he also didn't seem the stupid type to tell a cop everything.

Not to mention... the file said nobody had bothered to ask anyone about Dennis. Nobody had bothered really, maybe asked a little bit saying he was missing but that was about it. So, really, nobody should know what had happened. Yet, somehow, this douche knew this nobody had attacked monsters when that hadn't even been written on the file.

"Funny, I took this case because I felt sorry for the guy. The file mentioned nothing about him being a monster hater or that he was involved in any monster hate crimes and he has no criminal record. So, how do you know that he was a monster hater, when a cop like me had no idea?"

The guy just keeps his smirk on his face, utterly calm and not worried in the least. He still keeps his head up with his hand, his other now tapping on the desk in a rhythm. A purposeful rhythm that has me worried.

_Tap. Tap Tap. Tap._

_Tap._

_Tap Tap Tap._

Was that...?

Suddenly, claws dropped and clung down on my shoulders, causing me to flinch and cry out in alarm. I struggled, though it didn't last as the claws dug deeper, painfully so into my shoulders. I swore I could feel it beginning to bleed, though they had certainly dug holes into my police uniform. I tensed, forcing myself to stand still, knowing those claws were telling me a message, _don't fucking move, pig._ I didn't even move my head to check what monster had me in his claws.

The skeleton tsk'd several times, pushing the chair back behind him as he stood, the room being filled with the scraping of the chair against the floor. He shoved his hands back into his hoodie pockets, his eye sockets closing and he sighed dramatically. It felt almost like being told off by a teacher, only a lot more menacing when I had a tiger over my shoulders ready to rip my throat out. Somehow, that made me a lot more cooperative. He came right to my side and the tiger claws got a little more harsh. "less of the claws, tig." Tig? Tigger the tiger, by any chance? The claws pulled off my shoulders slightly, though they still stayed on, a warning to not do anything too rash or too fast. He came right to my side, a hand leaving his pocket and coming right to my face. I flinched, I didn't like dead things right near my face, shockingly, but that didn't deter the skeleton. His grin grew, not even slowing down as his palm bone thing came to cup my chin, forcing my head to look up at him.

You have no idea how badly I wanted to throw my head out of his hand. If there wasn't a tiger in the room I woulda done.

The monster hummed, his white light eyes looking all over my face, as if assessing me. "i guess i can't be too surprised. cuz it's always the kids who do stupid stuff." Oh, how he laughed when he realised my eyes turned defiant and glared at him. "you're a pretty one, though. last few were just self entitled arseholes who just wanted fame. least you seem to give a fuck." What was he talking about? I felt a shiver go up my spine, was... was this a common thing? All signs were pointing to...

"listen, doll. i like you. i gotta feeling we'll be seeing more of each other. tell ya what, since your boss is gonna be pretty pissed ya haven't clocked in hours-" HOURS!? "i wrote a little note for ya to give to him. i'm sure he'll understand." He then took his other hand out of his pocket, producing out a lovely envelope, complete with wax stamp on the seal to show if it had been opened or not with a big SS on it. I had no idea what that stood for, but hoped it would make sense to Greg. "though, do us a favour darling, don't read the note. s'not for you." He winked, grin still just as wide and undeterred as before. He then holds the note out, ready for me to take. I could hear the tiger behind me growling, and yes holy shit that was a tiger I know what a tiger sounds like, as I reach for the note. I took it, looking down to see the name DCI Gregory Lanshaw on the front. Someone had done their research, it seemed.

"actually, i'm feeling real kind today. heh." He reaches in the same pocket he took the note out of and drew out a white napkin. I wasn't entire sure either. He then handed me the napkin, I could see that it had words written on messily. "s'my name. figured you'd like that much to help your... investigating. though, i'm warning ya doll, ya ain't winning any friends trying to find out. even if ya figure it out, there ain't nothing you can do about it." He patted my head, like an owner would pet his dog. FUME. "but it's cute to see ya try. i ain't gonna stop ya."

This guy was seriously creeping me out, he held a lot more confidence than simply someone showing off. It's like he really had nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about from the police after capturing a police officer, are you kidding me!?

"now, gotta send ya home, doll. you'll be missing ya bed. nighty night frisky."

I felt chilled to the bone as he said my name and the context behind the words he just said. Night night. Immediately, I began to struggle wildly, even as he pulled away, shouting at Tig to restrain me and another cloth made it to my face. I wasn't having it, biting at the horrendous cloth, I didn't give a fuck if I got tetnus or whatever from it, I wasn't gonna die at the hands of some smug skeleton who had a lot of friends.

"fuck sakes, gotta do everything 'round here." I remember hearing the guy complain, before I felt a pinch to my neck and I blacked out entirely then and there.

...

"The fuck do you think you're doing, Fanshaw?!"

Coming back to my superior officer might've been the worst idea I ever had. Guess I had to face the music eventually, but I had hoped that I wouldn't have immediately been taken to him after I got back. I had woken up in my car, as if nothing had ever happened, but the note and napkin still in my pocket. I didn't read it, I woke up with a pounding headache, but drove immediately back to station. Turns out, yes, it all happened. Guv wasn't happy.

"Uh, solving a case. You know. Like I'm meant to? Like I'm paid to?"

"Is that what they call falling asleep at the wheel now? Because that's what your co-workers saw you doing, and that's what your cop cam caught you doing." Is this guy for real?

"Dunno what you've been drinking, but no, since I've been away for..." I check the clock. "Four hours, I can safely say I did no such thing. I don't know how I woke back up in my car, I remember being stalked, chloroformed, questioned and oh yeah." I was quick to throw my jacket off, pulling down my shirt from the shoulders to show off my bare shoulder and claw marks that... didn't exist. "Wait, I swore-"

"Fanshaw. You were sent to me for being highly recommended, despite your..." He ah-hemmed. I looked back, the shirt falling back down and hiding my shoulders again. I knew what he meant, but he didn't say it. He didn't have to. Misogynist prick. "And, well, today hasn't really shown me any of why you were recommended. You seem off your head. I suggest you take the rest of today off, go off, get laid, come back." Wow. Inappropriate or what? Pretty sure that'd get you fired anywhere else.

"I know I didn't imagine it. I've got proof." I wasn't going to be deterred, no matter what had happened or been covered up, somehow. Picking up my jacket, I looked into the pocket and grabbed the envelope that the skeleton had handed to me. I remembered that much, and I kept to my word, the wax seal still stuck on perfectly as if it hadn't been touched. I held the note out for him to take. "They asked me to give you this."

He seemed to glance at me, like he was worried about it being booby trapped or something. Hey, there was an idea. If, you know, it wouldn't get me fired immediately for doing so. Then he took the note, rather spitefully like he hadn't even wanted me to touch the damn envelope. Geez, what was this guy's problem? He broke the seal, glancing at me quickly as if to check I hadn't run away, and he began reading the note. He read it silently, the expression on his face gave nothing away as to what the note would entail. It was a good few minutes before his face seemed to show something other than a poker face. His eyes widened, he quickly glanced at me and looked back down at the letter again quickly. So, clearly, the letter involved me, somehow. Now I was tempted to ignore the skeleton's warning.

He threw the letter down harshly on the table, the noise making me jump in my seat a bit. "I'm cutting you off this case."

"What!? What gives you the right-!?"

"I'm telling you this for your own good!" He yelled back harshly, much more than I would've expected. He was serious about this. "It isn't worth the trouble, this poor sod. There's nothing you can do for him, just leave it be like everyone else has."

I'm not sure I could believe what I was hearing, give up on the case entirely because some douche bag says so? Were they really that worried about the guy? "What the fuck did that note say?" I got up and went to reach for the note, but Greg stopped me quickly.

"Don't. You have no idea what you're dealing with here. Give it up." Well, when he said it like that, it made me want to go against his wishes.

"Just because I've got a pair of tits, doesn't mean I can't look after myself." Pissed off, I left the room, not caring at all that he was calling me back, telling me not to do anything stupid. Ha, what did he think I was, an idiot?

...

I did something stupid.

I took out the napkin, seeing the name of the culprit who had me kidnapped for four hours and put me to sleep. Apparently his name was Sans Serif, and his name did come up on the criminal database, meaning he had been arrested previously. However, his database was anything but remarkable. Arrested for possession of drugs and getting into a bar fight? That sounded like most people in the city. What was there to be afraid of here? He had only served an overnight sentence in prison to calm down, picked up by his brother the next day and sent on his way. He possessed about £300 worth of drugs, which was nothing really, serving about a month in prison for good behaviour. I had met absolute nobodies that had a crime record better than that. Heck, Pervy Pete had a longer track record than that. Sexual harassment charges, but most of the time he ends up picking on girls that have boyfriends nearby and most of the time ends up in hospital for it. Then in the cells. Every time.

So. What was the big deal?

I felt a bit more worried when I finished work and came to my house to see a letter on the floor. A handwritten letter, full name written but no address or return address. That suggested that the sender came to my front door and posted the letter personally through my letter box. This person knew where I lived. I should've taken it back to the station, checked if it was booby trapped or something. Nope. Instead, I shrugged my shoulders and opened it then and there. It was a miracle I still had a face, let's be honest. Letter bombs are a thing, being a cop it wouldn't surprise me if someone wanted to ruin my face in.

This was a letter. It was handwritten, written like a simpleton and no curves in their writing, suggesting that it was a male that wrote this. Or a very manly female, I ain't judging. It had been folded in half, Frisk Fanshaw written on the front and a winky face under my name. I don't really understand.

Opening the letter, I found several £20 notes. Enough to make up £200. What in the world? Walking through to the kitchen, I put the notes down there and began reading the letter.

_dear frisk fanshaw,_

_no doubt ya boss warned ya. hehe. don't worry, darling. i like a chase, so i ain't gonna stop ya. ya seem determined enough, but i gotta tell ya people ain't gonna like what ya doin. so, i tell ya, probs just give up cuz its easier. nobody liked a monster hater anyways. that goes for all the other murderers, who cares they got killed in self defence? or an accident. idk, just guessing. sry if my boys roughed ya up a bit, didnt know ya were a real cop, yeah ppl pretend to be a cop round ere._

_hope ya didn't mind i looked into ya file, wanted ta be careful you werent a monster killer. can tell youre new here. welcome to ebbott ;) i can show ya round sweetcheeks, just gimme a bell and ill do it. ask muffet for sans, she'll know what ya mean ;)_

_call this money a welcoming present and sry for the rough up. don't be scared to say hi tho! hope to hear from ya soon, dollface ;)_

_sans._

Sans. That prompted me to bring out the napkin that I remembered putting in my pocket that contained his name. There, it was written in the same handwriting as the letter he had written. Sans Serif.

But that wasn't all that was in the envelope. There was a photograph, but this photograph gave me chills, because I knew exactly when this was taken. It was a photo of myself, leaning against my cruiser, texting on my phone. Answering my mother, telling her I was safe, on a case today so won't be able to call until tonight. The person who took the photo must've been in a building not far away, but out of sight if I weren't paying attention and a clear shot at me. The windows showed no reflection as to who took the photo, unfortunately, he was too good for that. Flipping the photo over was another note; _u look cute sweetheart ;) callme. x sans_

I shivered. I got the feeling that this wasn't all friendly, he was very deliberate in how he wrote this. On the surface, this probably seemed lovely, an apology letter, some money to make up for the misunderstanding and a photo to say he fancied the pants off me. But why would he tell me he looked into my file _from the police no less!?_ Why would he tell me to give up? Why the money? Bribe. This was a bribe. A warning. A bribe. Sweet assurances and trying to button up to me.

He was telling me to back the fuck off and keep quiet about all that had happened and drop the case. He was showing off how powerful his connections really were.

Ha! That doesn't scare me. If anything, this makes me more determined than ever. Well, Serif, sorry pal. That £200 ain't gonna cut shit. Tomorrow, I would look more into files on missing and dropped case files, fuck Greg, fuck Sans, no gangster wannabe is going to stop me knowing the truth. I wasn't gonna cower at the bottom of Sans' shoes like everyone else was. It made sense now. Everyone was scared or bought out by Sans' money. So. What does he have to hide? I know he must've gotten Dennis killed, why else would he want me to drop the case? But, what else is he hiding? Drugs? Robberies? I was going to find out!

...

Completely on my own, it turns out. I took the £200 wad of cash, asked forensics to check for fingerprints. As soon as they asked where it came from and why and I explained, right away they looked at each other nervously and refused. "Sorry, but uh... we're not allowed. Because, you know... waste of money and all that." Ugh. Useless cowards. So, I did it myself, told them fine fuckit gimme the kit I'll do it. They didn't stop me, shrugged and left me to it. Whatever, no monster scared me.

Through the database, I learnt that these prints didn't belong to Sans, as I had hoped. No. They belonged to a canine, goes by the name of G.D who worked as a bouncer at a night club called MTT Nights. Not the best name of a nightclub ever, but it was something!

So, with something to go on, I prepared to make a trip there. I also went through the many dead cases to see who else was killed off, or 'missing'. There was a total of four, Dennis, Howard, Anthony and Melissa. Very common names the lot of them, which made hunting for them difficult. Their surnames weren't much better, Jones, Harry etc. and all seems about the same, very little looked into, disappeared either around Muffet's Bakery or a pub known as Grillby's. Welp. This is going to be the death of me.

I mean, figuratively. Not literally.

Heh. Yeah.

Turns out, MTT Nights was about as flamboyant as the name suggested. It made me wonder if I had stepped into Las Vegas without noticing. There was an LED shape of a humanoid figure lying down flirtatiously and giving the illusion of him moving its leg up and down with MTT Nights in big. Ugh. This was a strip club, wasn't it? Being a female cop, I could only see this going well, they better not assume me part of their show.

Several minutes of building up my courage, I finally went ahead to the door to spot a beefy looking dog monster. He was HUGE, looked like he could bench press 40 kilos without breaking a sweat and break some necks without trouble. Wow. It made me feel better I had pepper spray and a taser on me. Still, determined I walked right to G.D, my ID badge ready on full show.

"Detective Inspector Frisk Fanshaw. Are you G.D? Oh uh... Greater Dog?" Was his real name, but he went by G.D by all his friends. I wasn't really one to be that professional, honestly. G.D seemed surprised, blinking, before he wagged his tail and his tongue slipped out. He looked... cute. He barked, several times. Oh. This was. This wasn't gonna work.

Just then, a skeleton monster peaked out through the door. It wasn't Sans, this skeleton had a taller head rather than rounded and flat like Sans' and he looked a lot more like a human skeleton than Sans did. He seemed to be wearing some strange battle re enactment armour that looked entirely fake, complete with cape and his bones were really thin. He stood a tall 6'5, towering over me. He had a big smile on his face. "YES, G.D? OH!" He then takes notice of me, looks surprised, before his smile grew wide. "WELCOME, HUMAN! ARE YOU HERE TO SEE METTATON IN ALL HIS GLORY?"

"Mettaton?"

The skeleton gasped loudly, like he had never heard of such an atrocity. "YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF METTATON? HUMAN, YOU HAVE BEEN DEPRAVED!" That was unlikely. "COME COME! YOU MUST BE EDUCATED IN THE WAYS OF METTATON!" And just like that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me through the door, ignoring my protests. He pulled me through the club, the loud music was pumping pop, dance and techno. It was boiling, lights were flashing enough that any person that suffered epilepsy would have a seizure immediately upon entering this place. Half the strippers here were human, but the other half were monsters, all mammal like from sheep to dog. Honestly, people were not that fussy when it came to what a monster looked like, not entirely and so human and monster sexual interactions were far from rare. These were the kind of places I never felt comfortable in, music being too loud, bodies too close to each other, people being very drunk and drunk people were normally very bold people.

This skeleton dragged me past all the dancing women on poles, past all the drunk monsters and humans, right to the back of the building. A lot of people did a double take, noticing I was not in plain clothes, I was clearly in full police uniform. That probably wasn't the most smart thing to do. I noticed a few glares, simply because police officer. You get used to that. Finally, the skeleton stopped dragging me through the club and stopped at a room right at the back. Shit, this seemed like a horrible mistake. I panicked, tried to get out of his grip but the skeleton was like a statue, he didn't move an inch or get bothered by my struggles.

He knocked on the door. "METTATON! I FOUND A HUMAN THAT HASN'T SEEN YOUR AMAZING PROWESS. OR MINE, AS A MATTER OF FACT." He shouted. I was pretty sure he didn't have a volume setting and he was just always shouting when speaking. He didn't wait much longer, simply pushing the door open and dragging me inside. There, lying on an expensive lounge chair was I assumed Mettaton. He looked rather human, if you ignored the fact that he was made of metal entirely. He looked like a rock star, almost.

"Pappy, darling!" He didn't act like one, though. He quickly got to his feet, throwing himself up and dancing with such elegance as to make a ballerina jealous. He rushed to hug the skeleton, lifting him and twirling without any issue at all. "Oh!" He drops Pappy, right beside him before looking me up and down. "I didn't know you were one to pick a stripper, Pap!"

Yup, that was what I had been expecting. "Sorry to break the dream, but I'm no stripper. Detective Inspector Frisk Fanshaw." I introduced myself, showing my police ID to them, as was customary.

Mettaton seemed to blink several times, before he smiled. "Oh! So sorry, we do have police strippers, I assumed you were a newbie, darling!" He laughs, throwing an arm around my shoulder. Ugh, this guy gets way too comfortable fast. "What brings you here to our humbled abode?"

"Well, I was needing to chat to a guy that works here, the dude at the front door, G.D?"

"Ah! Well, I'd love to let you talk to him, but I'm afraid it's not my place to allow that." Mettaton moved his arm off my shoulder, thank God, but those words confused me. How could he not? "You see, I hired him off his boss, so I'm paying his boss for him to stand guard of my nightclub. He is not directly hired by me, is what I'm saying. You'd have to ask G.D's boss to chat to him." Then Mettaton grinned. "But, lucky for you, he is here! Pappy, darling, could you grab him for me, pretty please?"

Pappy grinned, leaping into action. "OF COURSE, METTATON! I SHALL BE BACK BEFORE YOU REALISE I HAVE VENTURED ON THIS DARING QUEST!" I wasn't sure what to say to that. He leapt into action and rushed off, heading to what appeared to be a fire exit.

"So, darling." Mettaton drawled, sitting back down finally and gesturing for me to sit. I take it, wary. "What is it you want with G.D? You don't seem the type for the furred kind."

This guy was unbelievable. "I said I wasn't a stripper. I'll need to talk to him privately, not necessarily back at the station. It's confidential, I'm afraid I can't discuss it."

"Well, hun, you're gonna need to tell his boss what you want him for, or else he probably won't let you see him." Mettaton shrugged, leaning back and putting his arms around the back of the chair he was sitting on. His right leg was left hanging, which he swings leisurely. He looked back behind himself to see Papyrus coming back. "Ah~ Here he comes now~"

Papyrus rushed back, leaping over the back of the settee and down onto Mettaton's lap. I imagined those two were an item, or just very close maybe. "I BROUGHT HIM AS SOON AS I COULD! IN RECORD TIME, MIGHT I SAY."

"heh, you could say you _legged_ it over, bro." That voice. Oh no. Lo and behold, there he was. Sans Serif, suddenly there by the settee with Mettaton and Papyrus, leaning against the arm grinning. "hey darlin'. what brings you to my neck of the woods?" He winks.

I glare at him, but I don't answer back and keep my cool. I had to be the adult here, he wanted a raise out of me. Or catch me off my guard. "I need to talk to G.D, in private, about a very important matter. I'm sure you are aware of why I ask of that."

Sans remained grinning. "sure do, sweetheart. i could give it to ya, for a small fee."

I blinked. "Such as?" I expected it to be a ridiculous amount of money or something.

"all i'm asking is for a kiss, or two." He winks, showing his teeth more and... was that a tongue showing? A blue bright appendage slithered out between his teeth and he licked from the left to the right side of his mouth. Fucking creepy.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline, I've got higher tastes."

Sans sighs, closing his eyes, but his grin remained. "see, the problem is, g.d only gets paid to sit around. his poor family, his pups he has to nurture for, he needs all the hours he can get. i can't really find it in my soul to pay for you and him to have a nice chat for nothing, ya see?" What an utter, utter bastard.

"Are you really trying to guilt trip me into a snog? Seriously?"

Sans blinks, "hey now, that makes me sound awful. i gotta run a business, sweetheart, i only give what i think is worth." I glare at Sans, maybe with hope, he'd turn to dust in front of my eyes. Okay, that's harsh, but somehow he manages to get under my skin every time, he always seem to be one step ahead of me.

I didn't really have much of a choice, do I? I groan. "Fine, if that's the only way. But I get to interrogate G.D first. I wouldn't put it past you to take one and flee."

Sans laughs, winking. "'course, sweetheart." He turns to Mettaton. "hunk 'o junk, ya get g.d for us?"

Mettaton winks, practically dancing off that settee to his feet. "Of course! Anything to watch a good smooch!" What, no! I was going to protest, he wasn't going to see a thing, but he already danced away, as fast as Papyrus ran off to get Sans.

"c'mon, sweet cheeks, i'll get ya a room where you can talk to g.d privately." Sans tells me, taking my arm in his grip and he begins to lead me away towards the back. The room he chose was like an office, a regular office with files, a nice computer like chair on one side and two normal chairs for those being interviewed. There was nothing especially special otherwise about this room, nothing to show, no name on the desk or anything. "i'll even let you sit in my chair, for the moment anyhow." He raises his eyebrows, or his bone structure to make eyebrows, in a suggestive manner. This is unbearable.

G.D appears not too long later, thankfully I didn't have to deal with Sans trying to flirt with me for too long. He wags his tail, barks a couple of times, before he takes a seat quickly on the other side of the desk without being told to.

"Ah, good evening G.D. Thank you for coming, my name is Inspector Frisk Fanshaw of the Ebbott Police Division. Normally, we would do this interview at the station, but your boss Sans Serif has only agreed for me to interview you here." And I noticed, as I sat down into the chair, he wasn't leaving. He just stood nearby, like a guard making sure I tried no funny business. "I need to ask you, does the name Dennis Harris sound familiar at all to you?"

G.D tilted his head, whining, then stuck his tongue out panting. Ah. This'll be a problem with the language barrier. "he says that's a common name, so probably yeah." Sans translates for me. Ah, well, this explains another reason as to why Sans remained behind, he knew this would be a problem. I guess I had to make do and hope Sans didn't lie about what G.D actually says.

"Okay, maybe this picture will jog your memory." Out of my bag, I took out a picture of Dennis Harris, dead at the crime scene, several pictures of his pose, his face and all. Sometimes, the scenes in pictures are so gruesome people crack and confess. Not always, but we can hope.

G.D takes a look. Tilts is head, looks up at me and just... stares, mouth open, panting. Uh... "he says no, he has never met this human." The clueless look G.D gave me does seem to confirm with what Sans is saying. At least, he looked clueless anyway.

"Okay then. Scratch that. How about this?" I bring out the note, the note that Sans had written and show it to G.D. His ears perk up, eyes widen slightly and his tongue disappears back in his mouth.

"heh, i can answer that. sure, g.d might know it in the envelope, but he ain't read the note at all." Sans tells me, putting both his hands on my shoulders beside my head. He leans his head in close to my ear. "that's our little secret, babe." I shivered, I wasn't sure if it was fear, the whisper so close to my ear or pleasure. Close to my ear had always been my erogenous zone. I tried to hide it, though Sans' wide smirk made me question my confidence in that. "i only asked him to deliver it, s'all. ya done with him now, sweet cheeks?"

I looked back at Sans, surprised. But, then again, maybe I was interviewing the wrong person. Then again, like Sans would tell me anything if I tried. I already had, that ended in a failure. I huffed. "Fine, thank you for your time, G.D. If you find out any information, please let me know or give our office a call." I smile, G.D nods his head, barking a couple of times before he gets up and leaves the room, wail wagging.

As soon as G.D. leaves, I turn to Sans. "What're you planning?"

Sans blinks, grins, "what're talking 'bout?"

I growl, "You know what I mean! The note, sent right to my door instead of to the HQ like my guv's letter. The money. What are you hoping to gain here?" There was no way he was trying to suddenly be a nice guy. No way.

Sans continues to grin. "just trying ta welcome the new human, is all. you coppers get such bad flack, i don't wanna chase off someone who is doing a good cause for human and monster kind. you keep the humans off from us and we'll stay off humans. is how it works here." He winks, turning the chair so I had to go face to face with him. He stood close, too close for me to stand up, and so I was trapped down on the chair. I gripped the chair arms tightly. "sooner ya get it, sooner ya'll be happier here." He grins again, leaning closer. "so, 'bout that deal we had?"

I glare. "Ha, you can think again if I'd ever touch those lips of yours."

Sans didn't get pissed off like I expected him to. Instead, he laughed. "don't recall ya havin' a choice, sweetheart. ya'll either going to give us a kiss willingly, or i'll take it. deal's a deal, darling, and you ain't leaving here until ya give it." He grins wider, looking positively wicked. "always liked a girl who fought."

This guy. I swear, I was so close to slapping him so hard. Given his skull, though, I admit i would probably do more damage to myself trying that. With a mentally resigned sigh, I decided to at least appease him. He did say one kiss, anyway.

And so I did. A simple peck on the lips, lip on lip contact, quicker than a woodpecker pecking a tree. It was so quick, Sans blinked, like he couldn't believe I had just pulled a fast one on him. "oh c'mon-"

"You said so, one kiss. I gave it." I smirk, taking advantage of Sans being surprised to get up off the chair and attempt to push past him. It didn't work, shockingly. Instead, he took that chance to grab the back of my head and pull my head towards his, forcing a strong and almost painful kiss. Surprisingly, his lips that I expected to not move do, and his bone features on his face was surprisingly malleable. It was like kissing a regular person, only there is a slight tingle to my lips as Sans continued kissing me. Like a static shock, only it was pleasurable rather than painful. Fuck, he was a good kisser. Whether it was the loneliness, the stress or maybe he was just that good, instead of fighting him off, I returned the kiss with about as much ferocity as he gave. Sans was only too happy with this, I could feel him grin into the kiss, his mouth opening up and a slippery appendage begged to be let in. I opened my own, to let my own tongue clash with his. It felt like a regular human tongue, only it felt a little more wet than most, like he had been salivating for a few minutes before-hand. We were battling with our tongues, a violent kiss, and our sounds probably gave away our battle.

In the midst of our tongue battle, I failed to realise until later that Sans' hand had wondered, until he began to push with quite a bit of strength between my legs. That surprised me, causing me to gasp out of the kiss, a string of saliva following my tongue's exit of his mouth. Sans kept his tongue out, winking. I was surprised to find myself wet, I almost wanted to feel embarrassed, but I was somewhat horrified, because Sans must know. There was no way he couldn't. He removed his hand from my trousers, he had only touched the outside, but nevertheless, he brought his fingers to his tongue and licked them. He hummed. "babe, you taste fantastic, could eat you out all day."

Shit. This wasn't going the way I had planned at all. I tried to recover, tried to fight back in words, refuse everything that had happened. Before I could, however, someone opened the door without knocking.

"Sansy~ Paps and I- oh my~" That was Mettaton. Sans ceased, bringing his tongue back into his mouth and an annoyed expression came over his face. He turned, probably glaring at Mettaton.

"what is so fucking important you can't sodding knock, calculator?"

By the look on Mettaton's face, he knew exactly what had happened between Sans and I. Without a doubt. His evil grin said it all. "Oh~ Just that your ten o' clock has arrived~ I left him by the bar being entertained for now."

Sans sighs, like this were the biggest pain in the world. "a'ight. i'll be there." He doesn't wait for Mettaton to leave, instead turning to me and kissing me on the forehead. I blinked, flinched back, shocked. "be back soon darlin'. you just wait 'ere like a good girl." He then turns, leaving me star struck on his chair, still shaking and sweating from that make out session. He closes the door behind him.

"Fuck." I whisper, falling into the chair and covering my eyes. Fuck, indeed. What have I done? This was horrible, terrible! "Fuck." I whisper again, feeling tears coming from my eyes, despite my best to keep them back. I had no doubt that Mettaton was not going to keep what had happened a secret. Relationships between human and monster, whilst somewhat common, wasn't always accepted. I could only see the papers getting wild over a cop and a monster getting it on.

A minute later, wiping my eyes and pretend that never happen, I stood up. I intended to not listen to a word Sans said, I wasn't going to wait here for him, I wasn't his girl and this was a big mistake. It'll never happen again. I walked to the door, turned the knob; to find it locked.

Sans had locked me in. I was utterly fucked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After barely escaping Sans Serif's grasp with her life, Frisk soon learns who he really is, his influence and what deep shit she is stuck in. After traumatized by the event, she spends the rest of the day and the next chilling with her monster rescuer. For the most part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry omg two months. I'm terrible. Absolutely terrible. I don't really know much else I wanted to write here, as I had intended it on a one shot but it just didn't seem to work. I think I have an idea on what to happen next chapter. 
> 
> I'll be taking a leaf out of the manga FAKE. If you haven't read it. READ IT. It's like older than me manga but holy shit it's good <3 Dee and Ryo are just the best ever. I'll be taking a leaf out of how they deal with gangster life and how the police deal with it in a somewhat sensible manner. 
> 
> No warnings for this chapter. No smut or anything either. Sorry about that. :P this chapter is a little bit more chill... probably a bit dull but I feel it's needed to add character and world fluff and all that stuff. Hence it's a little bit shorter. There'll probably be more drama next chapter, more Sans probably too. I want to get into the itty bitty grit of how mean Sans really can be later on ;D
> 
> Hope you enjoy either way!

Chapter 2

My first reaction was to panic, naturally. My second reaction was to grab my walkie talkie. The moment I pressed the button, however, it became clear that something in the air was preventing it from working. Perhaps the magic in the air? Or Mettaton had something real special in the works. Or Sans managed to tamper with my walkie talkie, rendering it useless. It made a garbled noise, like it were possessed or something. So, I tried my mobile phone.

To my absolute luck, it worked! Signal, too! You suppose I'd call 999 and get the nearest police officer to come over and help me. Thing is, I had police officers on my own personal phone, and I knew just the person who didn't care too much about the rules and happy enough to bend it the littlest of bit. Not to mention, it'll probably be quicker to go through her personal phone number than trying to get through to the 999 call office. So fuckit.

I called that very number that I only ever used if I had truly fucked up, or was stuck in almost a life or death situation.

"S'UP NERD?!" That was about the norm. Undyne was actually above me in the police ranking system, a DCI rather than a DI. She was on another district, however. We had met once when that Ebbott human district and our district just outside were combined for the day. I was picked, along with two others, to assist in a drugs raid. They were low on numbers at that point because of... reasons. We were friends outside of work as well, we had similar attitudes and opinions. We worked well together when training, keeping fit was a chore, but it was an important part of being a cop. For situations just like this.

"Shh! Keep it down." I whispered into the phone, not entirely sure if Sans had left bodyguards on the other side of the door. "I need your help. Like, now."

"Dude, what've you done?" She sounded almost annoyed.

"I didn't do anything!" I flinched, realising I had raised my voice. Nothing moved. "I'm being held captive." Well, maybe I over exaggerated a little bit.

"What!? You've been kidnapped!?"

"More like he won't let me leave when I'm done with the party."

"Dude, that's what windows are for!" She had a point. I went behind Sans' desk, at least I assumed that it was his desk and tried opening the window. It opened! Even if it couldn't, smashing the glass was always a way. Only...

"Undyne. I'm like five floors up at least. I can't get down."

"What, you stuck in their apartment or something? There's always a fire escape." Apparently, not on this side of the building. I let her know that her advice was not helpful. "A'ight, where are you dude?"

"MTT Nights."

"What the fuck are you doing there? Didn't think they had male strippers there."

"I was working, Undyne. You know, like a good cop."

"I mean, sure strippers are a little sketchy, but that's not breaking the law."

"I was investigating a cold case, one Lanshaw had given up on. It lead me to here, and now the boss won't let me leave."

Undyne was quiet, for a long time on the other end. So long, I was worried that she had hung up on me. "Frisk, I'm not joking when I say this but get out of there. Get out of that building and stay away. I'm coming to get you now, but do as I say and get out." She sounded panicked, serious before she hung up. I hadn't mentioned Sans Serif, I hadn't mentioned any names at all, but somehow she knew. Who the fuck was this Sans Serif person at heart, to make even Undyne worried?

I took her words to heart, feeling a little panicked myself. Undyne had never acted like that before, not since I had known her. I peered at the window, the lock on it was the type that would swing open outwards like most offices in apartment building or skyscrapers have. It looked pretty high up, it made me pretty nervous, almost tempted to just wait for Sans to get back so I didn't have to attempt this. But I couldn't let Undyne's warning get out of my head. With a few deep breaths, a silent prayer to anyone who is listening, I open the window and take a step outside. There was only a little bit of the building ledge to stand on, but there was a grip above I could use to move and shimmer across.

I told myself, over and over again, do not look down. Do not, no matter what, look down. Over and over. Forget the sound of blaring horns of traffic in the distance down below you. Just forget that ever is a thing. I turned my back to the drop, holding on for dear life to the edges of the wall. There really wasn't much room to manoeuvre, it made me more thankful that I had practised monkey bars when I was doing training to become a police officer. It was slow going, I wasn't even sure where I would go honestly. The next window, peak in and see if I could make a break for it through there?

"frisk?" I froze. I thought then that Sans had found me. Turns out, after I heard the door open (the sound of the party getting louder from that direction was my guess he opened the door), he had called my name out early. "what the fuck; frisk!?" He sounded panicked when he couldn't see me right away. Only, like a fucking muppet, I left the window open. Like an idiot, I looked back towards the window, too far out of reach. It took a second, but Sans' head peaked out of the window, looking down first. Then left. Then right, to me. His eye lights flickered, his face showing his surprise. "what the fuck are you doing!?"

I was surprised by his shout. So surprised, I flinched. My foot slipped, my hand let go under the sudden increase of weight it had to deal with. Suddenly, I was falling.

Falling to my death. All I could hear was the roaring wind as I fell, four floors certainly enough to kill me. I almost blacked out, purely from the whole 'holy shit I'm about to die' phase.

Then, suddenly. I wasn't. I wasn't falling anymore, I had stopped, and yet I felt no pain. What was this? I opened my eyes, closing them as I didn't want the last thing I see before I died to be the ground racing towards me and a splat to the ground. I noticed that I was somehow near the ground. And that I was in the arms of someone. Looking up, I saw that, somehow, beyond the logic of reality and how he couldn't possibly have made it unless he could fucking fly, Sans had caught me.

Just... how?

And he looked fucking pissed as all hell. One of his eye sockets was blank, entirely empty, the other a menacing blue colour, burning cobalt flares where I was sure he was using his magic. Was... was his magic...? Surely not! Magic with monsters were often categorised, so as we were more prepared should a monster actually go rogue. Sure, a human soul is stronger than a monster soul, but magic sure helped them a lot. In terms of fighting to the death, humans would beat a monster, but monsters were pretty good at evading. A human and a monster SOUL together...

Is something that won't ever happen.

"of all the fucking stupid things you could've done, that took the piss." Sans snarled out, his grin growing wider, as if to entirely intimidate me. I shivered, this guy genuinely could freak me out a little bit, when he tried.

"Frisk!" Ah! Turning my head, I saw Undyne, coming to my rescue, having parked her car nearby and she was walking towards me with a slight hesitation in her steps. I didn't see Sans' initial reaction, but I felt him putting me down carefully, is if he hadn't been holding me tight, almost in a grip that refused to ever let go. She approached to my side, asking if I was okay. After I reassured her I was fine, she glowered at Sans. "Sans Serif."

"hey undyne. what brings ya on this side of the city?" He seemed pleasant enough, but there was this tension in the air. From getting better at reading people, it felt almost like there was a story missing here.

"Just got a phone call from a pal of mine, telling me she's locked in a room against her will. Is called kidnapping, to the law. I came to rescue her." Yeah, there was definitely a conflict here I was missing out on. Sans must've had a run in with Undyne in the past, and she clearly hadn't forgiven him.

Sans didn't seem at all bothered whatsoever. In fact, he even put a hand to my waist. I flinched, but not enough to get out of his small contact, that wanted to become a grip. "ah, i see. by the night we had, didn't think the darling dove would wanna fly away." He winks at me, the reminder that we had made out before left me looking guilty. Undyne picked up on that right away, her face rather shocked. "i only locked the door to protect her, you know with being stuck in a strip club. she already got some fooled thinking she was working. was only thinking of her." It was a cunning lie, but a lie nonetheless. One we couldn't disprove whatsoever, however.

Undyne had the same thought it seemed, by her response: "Huh sure. Guess I'll be taking her home."

Sans didn't protest, instead he kept grinning and winked to me. " _pleasure_ doing business with you, officer." Yeah, I knew what he meant when he said it like that. He pressed his fingers to his grin, somehow his skull moulding to lips and he blew a kiss to me. I stiffened, as he turned around and walked away at a pleasant stroll, whistling, somehow.

"C'mon, Frisk." It was like being scolded as a child. Or being told off like a bad dog. I acted that way too, hanging my head low and following Undyne to her car. My car, I was sure, would remain safe enough where I had parked it. The keys were on me and nobody had the balls to break into a cop car. I hoped.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Undyne's car, however. That's when she broke her cool facade. "Dude! What the fuck happened!? Do you know who that even is!?"

"Geez, Undyne, it was just a small mistake. I fucked up a little bit, okay!?" I didn't understand why she was panicking so much. Sure, I was kidnapped, off the record, but he hadn't threatened me. I just... didn't want to see Sans a second time and make a worse mistake, if kissing him had that effect on me somehow. I probably really needed to get laid, badly. "So I got a bit friendly. My bad, I just... couldn't help it. I stopped it there, honest. Just hope the papers won't be too scandalous and my boss doesn't freak out."

Undyne blinked a few times, like she couldn't believe what I was saying. "Dude, you know who Sans Serif is?"

"Who cares? His records show him to be a complete nobody, but apparently is close friends with Mettaton who owns a strip club, and has a brother. That's literally it, no criminal record except drug charges. Hardly counts as a master criminal to me." Except he was a little creepy, stalkerish in a sense too. But that was hardly an offense either.

Undyne slapped her hand to her head in amazement. "How the fuck- dude! He's bad news, big bad news. He has friends in high places, higher than you or I, we can't touch him if he does anything to you." That high up? Who the fuck was this guy?

"How? Who is he?"

"Only the most influential person in the whole of Ebbott, as far as we have seen. He has the utmost respect out of any monster in this city, even out of the city. He has control over the firearms trade in the city, drugs trading both human and monster, and has the city pretty much under his thumb. You'd probably know him better by another name, the name he advertises out there. The Judge."

That was when my heart froze, my SOUL almost wilting and true, wholesome dread hung over my body and spirit. The Judge. Everyone, even those outside of Ebbott, knew who the Judge was. He was a monster, for all we knew, who held the city under his control. Nothing happened in the city without his knowledge, he had eyes and ears all over the estate, from all four corners, he knew every little thing that happened. Most, if not all monsters revelled in his glory, I remained sceptical, anyone with that amount of power and respect was bound to misuse it, I feared at some point. And yes, he did. It was a rumour, or more like a saying, and a warning, that if the Judge wanted you dead, you were dead. He had a say over everything in the city. If he wanted someone to disappear, he could make you disappear.

Everything clicked suddenly. Why Lanshaw wanted me to drop the case so badly, how nobody answered any questions, why nobody actually cared about Dennis Harris at all. Not to mention, the small pile of unsolved death cases, possibly murder cases that Gregory had left to the side. There was a reason they were left. A very fucking good reason. If the Judge wanted you dead, you were dead. Like a black spot in the age of piracy, you held a target and an invisible bounty on your head. He wanted you dead, you were already dead, at that point. A being that held the utmost respect from monster kind, in an 80% monster populated city, you were either for them, or against them. Clearly, by trying to solve the case of Dennis' murder, I was rebelling against the norm, against the people. It had certainly caught the attention of the Judge.

Yet... he had flirted with me, kissed me, tried to become nice, whilst threatening and holding a threat down as if he had power over the city. Only now, I realised he acted that way because it was true. He held the city in the palm of his hands. He held such confidence and pride, knowing I wouldn't truly shut him down and such, because he knew, I wouldn't really ever be able to say no. This... was a lot more dangerous than I had hoped for.

"How the fuck did I not know?" I breathed out, finally getting to grips with reality. "Fuck, how did nobody tell me!?"

Undyne coughed. "Well, it ain't exactly public knowledge, only his close friends and the high up coppers know who he REALLY is." I wasn't sure if she was trying to make me feel better about being ignorant, or if she genuinely meant it. "So I can't blame ya for not knowing by looking at him. Nor when he told you his name, most know him as The Judge, rather than Sans Serif. He's actually rather private about things like that. It's almost as if Sans Serif and The Judge were different people, or he treated them like different people, Sans Serif as one, and The Judge as his persona. Or some shit I don't know man." She rubs the back of her head, running a hand through her now unruly red hair. It had gotten messed up, probably when she ran to try to save you when she realised what danger you were actually in. "It sounded way better in my head. Ya know?"

That wasn't the point. "What am I gonna do, Undyne? I mean... it doesn't matter if I quit the investigating now, does it?" I'd already gotten his attention and it didn't seem like he was willing to forget about this entirely. Even if I gave up on the case, I had a feeling even if I did, he certainly wouldn't give up the chase. A chase he would win, with the whole city on his side.

"I dunno what he wants with you dude, but if he's interested, he won't give up. You'd only be safe away from him if you left the city." It was the one thing I didn't want to hear. But I knew she was right, it was the only way. "If you even wanna leave, cuz dude." She changed her tune a little, smirking. "This is totally a plot out of an anime or some shit. If Serif totally has the hots for you, ya gotta be the safest person in the entire city!"

"Undyne, this is serious!"

"Yeah, but imagine! You already snogged him." A good reminder, that yes, I didn't exactly help myself out of this situation. "Clearly, ya like the guy too. So, clearly, that ain't the problem. I wonder, what's the real problem?"

"Uh, hello? Sans Serif as a mob boss. Like he is literally king of this city. Can you imagine it?" Though, honestly, I did have the image of a stereotypical mob boss, which probably wasn't very fair. I imagined him to be quick to anger, very wanting, powerful, everything I wasn't. But the image of me being a trophy wife, the cop that fell to the mob boss, wasn't appealing either. I had become a cop to better the city, better people's lives. Getting involved with a mob boss in that way, I was sure would be one way to lose my job entirely. I couldn't deal with being stuck in a house waiting for the man to come home. It just wasn't my way. Those days for women were long over.

"Well... I'd say normally give him a chance, but if you ever wanted to break it off, that'd be real messy real fast." Undyne was ever so helpful with her observational skills. "I guess I can see it. I'd think it super cool to date a mob boss, but I guess I can see that side too. Look, if ya don't wanna give it a shot, if ya'll are creeped out, ya gotta leave the city. If you stay here, Sans will always find you."

"I haven't really got anywhere to go, I don't wanna involve my mum in this. She left the city for this reason, she couldn't handle it." My mother being the only relative I had. I always took the time to call had every few days or so, to reassure her that yes I was still alive. Her overprotective nature was tiring, so I didn't visit too often, but she was still my mother.

"Look, we'll figure it out. Come to my place, Alphys is away for a week at a science convention so you won't have homo thrown at you." Ever the eloquent one, was Undyne. However, it sounded like a good idea. If Sans really wanted to see me, he'd be at my house, probably have a few of his grunts there. He wouldn't suspect me to be at Undyne's house. I accepted her proposal, Undyne letting out a woop and promising me anime night. I wasn't the biggest fan of anime, but I didn't want to disappoint her when she probably hadn't had people over in quite a while.

The night was spent well. She had decided to take a pit stop at a nearby liqour store, telling me that we "totally need to get shitfaced after a day like today. Imma tell Lanshaw you need a break, I've got tomorrow off anyways!" So, that is what we did. We spent the day watching terrible cartoons, horror films whilst drunk and laughing about all our problems. It was the best way to deal with circumstances like this.

Then, whilst I was shitfaced, Undyne brought up the topic of Sans Serif himself. "So, how didja come to meet Sans?"

"Gawd, like, I was starting the case, asking Muffet if she knew shit, course she didn't. I felt someone stalking me, like I could feel a creeper following me. I totally turned on him, told him to knock the shit off all that." I remember slurring whilst talking. Barely. "Shoulda been a clue he was a mob boss when he knocked me out and threatened me if I didn't stop investigating. He cut it nice when he realised I gave a shit. Wasn't a bent cop, didn't hate monsters and all that. Dropped me back off unconscious I think back in my car like it never happened. Left me a note to give to Lanshaw, dunno what it said."

"Probably along the lines of explaining who he is and what he wants with you. It's probably why Lanshaw wanted you to stop solving the case. He's worried mostly about what it means, not about you."

I think, at his point, I was too drunk to care, honestly. "I mean... he's such an arsehole that Sans. Such a dick. Constantly one step in front of me, no matter what I do. Just wanted to be taken seriously as a cop for fucking once, not some girl with tits and a bad attitude."

"Dude." Undyne sounded tired. Tired of my attitude, it seemed. "I dunno if it's just you, or human females, but I haven't had any trouble with this tits and that. I'm a girl and nobody judges me for what I am."

I sigh, "Maybe it's just a human thing? I worked hard to get this far and all I get is vague sexist remarks. Or maybe it's just Lanshaw. Telling me I should get laid, what a cunt."

"He what?"

"Yup. Before I showed him the letter, 'course. Changed his tune and acting like he gives a shit. Dickhead thinks I can't handle myself."

"Really? Lanshaw is sexist?"

"Or maybe he just hates me. Fuck, I dunno." I sighed, throwing myself back on the sofa with a loud groan. "Dunno what to do about Sans. Like, I don't even know him. Met him like twice. Like, dude, I gotta know someone for ages before I decide on dating or not. What 'bout my job? What 'bout Harris? Even tho he's a nobody, he still got killed. I can't prove Sans did it, even if I did who'd give a fuck? "

"Look, just... we'll take it easy tomorrow. Get up with a fucking hangover, go out for coffee once we're gone barfing and we'll see how ya feelin'?"

Suffice to say, I didn't remember the rest of the night. I remember waking up with the worst hangover, vomiting for a good few minutes in Undyne's bathroom before I had the energy to do anything else. Undyne lent me some clothes, decent ones as well that somehow fit me without too much trouble. A simple nice cream jumper and some jeans, they were a bit big on me but nothing a belt couldn't handle.

Costa was quiet, thankfully, when we got there after we recovered. It was a gloomy day, as always, the city never seemed to have good weather. Undyne seemed unusually perky for a day after being drunk, I was guessing that she hadn't had as much to drink as she had lead me to believe. But I didn't remember a fucking thing. I probably told her a lot of stuff I didn't want her to know, probably stuff I didn't even figure out myself but apparently my drunk self just knew all the answers. Drunk me and sober me did not get along and never spoke to each other.

"So, what's your plan?" Undyne asks me, right away as we sit down with a cup of coffee each.

"Plan?" I question. I remembered absolutely zilch last night. I remember complaining about Lanshaw being sexist, I remember pondering how to handle Sans and I remember I was getting drunk to forget about the fact that Sans and The Judge are one in the same person.

"Yeah, you gonna stay in the city or are you going to move on? You said you didn't want your mum involved, though?"

Oh, yeah that. "It's the only other place I can go, and my mother deserves more than that. I don't really have a choice but to stay. I can handle Sans, I've managed fine so far." I lied. I wasn't so confident that I could handle Sans. If he wanted me to be at his house, it wouldn't take him much effort to get me there. He knew where I lived, for a start, and he knew where I worked. Chances are, he'd be able to figure out my living routine fairly easily. He'd be a stalker that no police officer would want to stop. Then again, maybe he wouldn't. My life honestly wasn't that exciting. I lived for work, when I didn't work, I didn't do much else other than sit at home and watch TV, or read a book, or go for a walk, go to the gym to remain a fit working police officer. That was about it.

"Yeah, about that. You gonna, like, ignore him or you gonna... you know, check him out?"

I spat in my coffee. "Undyne! You forget, Sans Serif! Geez! I really don't need you trying to pair me up with someone, especially someone of Sans' line of work!"

"C'mon! You two look so cute though!"

A pause. I look around, noticing that some of the staff members had been watching us, one a fox lady wearing a rather revealing top, she turned and looked away quickly the moment she realised I was watching her. Another was a dog. No, really, a Shiba Inu dog that was wearing a tie and drinking coffee and reading the paper. He had a bored expression on his face, something I didn't think a Shiba Inu could do. There were a couple of human figures flitting about too. The Shiba Inu glanced a look behind his paper to me, as if he sensed I was looking at him. When he made eye contact, he looked startled and quickly hid his head in the newspaper again. Now, what had I done to elicit a reaction like that? Like he was terrified to look at me the wrong way?

I turned to look back at Undyne. "Okay, what happened that I got that reaction?"

Undyne seemed to be trying to hide a snicker. I glared. She gave in. "Okay, okay! Guess you didn't get a good look at today's paper, did you?" The front page news on Shiba Inu's paper had been about how Trump could be the end of monster kind in America, meaning that possibly Britain would be getting more monsters. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact Britain often preferring them certainly over other immigrants (the majority of the country, as of late anyway), though it made it to the front page easily with Britain having a high monster population. Higher than humans, shockingly. The only other country similar to that would be Japan and other smaller countries where humans don't really reside, but some monsters love to thrive.

"I don't really care too much about Trump's opinions or what America's action have cause to us, really. So long it doesn't make my job anymore difficult, I don't get involved with politics all that often. You know it, Undyne." Even if our Prime Minister currently was a monster, Asgore Dreemurr. He had done a pretty good job keeping the peace between humans and monsters, but there was always going to be some who slip the net. But I didn't get involved in politics all too much, it didn't matter if they were human or monster, politics always seemed corrupt. I wasn't invested enough really to comment or judge, however.

"No! Turn to page three; here." she brought a paper from under the table, somehow, and tossed it to me. I took the paper, yup this was the same paper the Shiba Inu had, and on the front page it was going on about Trump. However, there was a tiny story at the side that caught my attention. _Strip Club Boss Holds New Prize._ Why would I care about this?

"I don't care about celebs, Undyne."

"For fuck sakes, read the paper, dumbass."

With a roll of my eyes, I open the newspaper, turning to page three. Only to find a picture of Sans leading me away to his private room in one picture, another taken at an angle from a peephole it must've been and a clear shot of us snogging. Before Sans made to grope between my legs, thankfully. I must've blushed something furious, as Undyne began cackling. "Undyne! Jesus, this is serious!" I was caught wearing my police uniform and everything. there was no way that I was unrecognisable in that photo someone had taken. "Fucking arsehole, what does he hope to gain from this!?"

"Well, I'll tell ya one thing. You're officially off the market now. It doesn't matter if you want to date anyone else, any monster probably wouldn't try now you're in Sans' sights. Clearly, he's pretty serious about this. Why else would he post it in the papers?"

"Undyne, this'll cost me my job! Dating... you know!"

Undyne shook her head, grinning. "Nah, you won't! Cuz Sans is a nobody, remember? He's just a normal guy running a perfectly legal strip club. He's just got some influence. They've got no cause to fire you for dating anybody like that. Don't cost you anything except that yeah, you're sure gonna be recognisable and people are gonna stare. Now he's let the whole city know. I thought when I heard ya were working on the case, I thought he'd be... you know. This is way better!"

"Please, Undyne, stop getting excited over this." I drank a big gulp of my coffee, hoping it would help lift my mood even slightly. Not that I was too bummed out about not getting another partner, it hadn't been a priority and I always believed the right person would swoop into your life when you least expected it, but it was the stares from other monsters, even people, that got me on edge. It seemed a lot more people knew who Sans was, truly, than me. Unless Sans Serif himself has some sort of influence over the people as well.

"C'mon! You guys really look so cute together, and by what Mettaton wrote, you both got on real well!"

Of course that bag of shit for bolts wrote and took the picture. Kicking the door open whilst in the middle of a snog wasn't good enough for the tin of scrap. Noooo, had to publish it in the fucking local paper for all to see as well! "Bellend should've let well enough alone! Jesus, it was just a kiss, nothing else, nothing more. I was feeling horny, we get that, he was there, end of. Never happening again." I downed the rest of my coffee, closing the paper and giving a huge sigh. It was funny, really. Just yesterday Undyne had been worried about my safety with Sans Serif, that he could possibly hurt me or worse. Now, she found it hilarious if him and I were paired together, found it adorable that we were together in the papers. It was like a 180 flip switch my head couldn't grab a handle of.

"Okay, okay, no more talks about Sans Serif and his sexy beast. Whatever." I glowered at Undyne, but she wasn't at all bothered by my attitude. "C'mon, let's go watch a shitty film at the cinema or something. We haven't hung in _ages_ and I have been bored shitless without my girl around. And you need to get out of the house more. I've gotta see this new Ghost in the Shell film!"

There was no getting out of this. When Undyne had made her mind up, she had indeed made her mind up. I guess it wouldn't be so bad, a couple of hours to forget that all of this had happened. Yeah, and an excuse to remain away from my house and stay out. Undyne was right. It was about time I got more away from the house. I needed a day without drama, without anything else fucking up. Let's hope today would be that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha famous last words, Frisk. We can hope. I hope this world building came in useful to give you an idea of how the world is. I'm trying for modern day, I mostly added Trump because Trump. No explanation needed honestly. 
> 
> Hopefully there will be some drama or something next chapter. I plan for there to be some, but I don't have the entire encounter in my head yet. I've got the basic outlines, I just need to add in the details :P 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this and thank you for the support! ^^ 
> 
> ~Blackie


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fun day with Undyne comes to a horrible ending, Frisk finally realises why people have learnt to fear the Judge, as he presses down his Judgement. Frisk then has to come to terms that things in life really aren't as easy as you always hope they'll be. There really wasn't any avoiding this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a bit shorter than the normal ones, but it seemed like a good stopping point where I got to. 
> 
> I'm not very good at updating this promptly, I feel. This wasn't meant to be this long, it just keeps growing man :P 
> 
> This chapter doesn't feel particularly exciting either and I'm not 100% happy with this chapter, but I'm not sure what else I can do with it honestly. Bits I am, I tried showing Sans' more savage side, to remind you yes, he's not all nice and cuddly, don't forget :P he's not just a sarcastic arsehole either, he is dangerous. Seems Frisky forgot herself, and keeps forgetting. 
> 
> SO ZELDA BREATH OF THE WILD, AMIRIGHT? And Snake Pass, don't forget that too. 
> 
> Here ya go! Let me know what you think and hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3

The Ghost in the Shell film could have been worse, quite honestly. I had certainly seen a lot worse. It felt like I hadn't wasted my day with Undyne, not when she had clearly really enjoyed the film. She spoke excitedly, recounting to me over and over her favourite scenes from the film. Whilst I didn't enjoy it nearly as much, I was still happy to spend some quality time with her. It had been a long time.

“C'mon! We totally gotta flash out and go to Bella Italia!” She laughs, throwing her arm around my shoulders. “It's been bloody ages! And after this shit, I think we deserve it.” I suppose, she was correct. I had brought her into my mess of Sans, after all. Although, she didn't seem nearly as worried about him as before.

“Hey, 'Dyne?” She hummed. “How come you aren't so worried about Sans anymore? At first, you seemed scared to death, he shoulda killed me or something. But now... you're encouraging me to see him, it feels.”

“Ha, what? Me? Nah, 'course not!” Her voice wavered, of course, a clear indication of her lie. “See, Sans ain't a bad guy, he's not a good guy but he's not out to murder random people. He's actually a pretty patient guy. More patient than me.” She grumbled the last part out, as if she hadn't wanted to admit to it. I could see it, Undyne didn't do well with being patient, it's why she was either really good or really bad at interviewing and interrogating others. It depended on the person, honestly. “He only kills people that he thinks deserve it. When you were investigating, I thought he'd put a stop to it. Entirely.” Oh. She hadn't thought... I had been risking my life, playing with fire. I didn't think... “But I totally didn't think he'd fancy the pants off ya!” Ugh. There wasn't stopping her.

It continued all through Bella Italia as well, Undyne teasing, asking how the kiss was. My answer, like kissing any other guy, though he was rather good at it. Undyne began texting like mad. This served as about ten minutes fighting over the phone, I knew she was texting her girlfriend, who was even worse than she was for trying to get people together. Her girlfriend was Alphys, a quiet dinosaur lady who was even more mad for anime and lived for social media. She worked in forensics for the police in Undyne's sector, so her job certainly wasn't rainbows and butterflies. She really didn't seem the type when I first met her, she was so quiet and shy that anything horrific seemed like it would traumatise her. She must be coping somehow, though I have no idea how. Because they were basically made for each other and believe I should be as happy as them, they have been hard pressed to try to get me a partner.

That's why Sans making a move now has gotten Undyne very excited.

After Bella Italia, Undyne and I began our walk home. We hadn't bothered with our cars this time, knowing the streets would take too long to drive through at this time of the day. The weather wasn't too bad and it was nice to walk around and get some fresh air. Nice to be out of the office, for once. Our walk went mostly undisturbed, though we took a short cut through an alleyway, one Undyne reassured me was relatively safe. Well, I had hoped nobody would be stupid enough to attack a pair of coppers.

Apparently, I was wrong.

Undyne and I were almost through the thick of the alleyway, passing over dustbins, when a couple of twats come charging out from the dark turnings, guns at the ready, shouting the usual nonsense.

“GET ON THE FUCKING FLOOR.”

“Oh gimme a fucking break.” Undyne complained, as I too rolled my eyes. On the inside, of course. On the outside, I had my arms up, watching the first man with his gun carefully. His arm was shaking and he was sweating nervously, holding the gun like an amateur. He had never shot a gun in his life, that much was clear. It wasn't shocking, handguns weren't easy to come by here, at least for the common folk who had no connections. The man looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a baggy hoodie, covering his head, his face barely visible, wearing baggy jeans, trainers scuffed clearly ageing and a messenger bag to his side that appeared pretty empty. I couldn't see the other male, but I could clearly hear him, his shoes crunching against the concrete floor.

“Chillax Tyrone,” the cocky kid behind me said, giving at least a name to go with. They really were kids. “ain't nobody gonna care about a coupla chicks.” When I heard the kid moving closer behind me, I had to resist the urge to grab his gun and wrestle for it. Tyrone would probably react and shoot the gun before I could react, being so jumpy it's amazing he hadn't set the gun off already by accident! Instead, I shivered as I felt the kid ruffling through my pockets. Of course, I had only my phone and wallet with barely any money in it. “Eh, flat broke anyway. But shit, ain't she gorgeous?”

“Hey, kids, I'd just turn and leave, before ya get into trouble.” Undyne warned, her hand making a move to her back pocket. Tyrone, of course, freaked out, raising the gun to aim more to Undyne, whilst the other kid began glaring at Undyne.

“Or what? What're ya gonna do? I could have 'er right 'ere and there ain't shit ya can do.” Whilst most women would probably be frightened, I wasn't moved in the least. This was something I wasn't exactly used to, but the speech he was giving was basically an everyday thing. In fact, I was rather furious! Because I wasn't as buff appearing as Undyne, I couldn't possibly handle myself.

As I was about to do something very stupid, to try to grab his gun and wrestle the delinquent to the ground, the pair of brats suddenly began glowing blue. Or... cyan. Blinking, surprised, Tyrone dropped the gun immediately, his face in horror giving me the clue that he hadn't meant to do that. I turned to see that the other kid had also dropped his gun as well, frozen solid with the same expression of horror as Tyrone. What on earth...?

"heh, didn't your mothers ever tell ya to treat ladies with respect?" I knew that voice. Turning in the direction that the voice was coming from, the way we had come in from the alleyway, I could just about see his outline, slouched, in his blue parka and trainers, as if he had just gotten out of bed. But I knew better, I knew he had been following us, probably for a long time, before he moved in to act. Sans Serif, not acting the least bit shocked that the boys were acting as they were, freaking out but utterly frozen solid. He was the culprit, not because he didn't appear surprised by this, but because his but because his left eye was glowing a cyan bluish colour, the same colour hue that was surrounding the boys. Whatever he was doing, was stopping them from acting, petrifying them like a medusa monster.

His grin grew wide, sharp and menacing. I knew I wouldn't want to be on the other side of that grin. Before, Sans hadn't really scared me. Intimidated me, sure, but never truly gave me a reason to fear him. Right now, with his eye pulsing magic, his grin wide and full of malice, he certainly would give anyone reason to be worried. His eyes turned to the other boy, the one not yet named. His grin grew wider, as he walked up to the boy, the blue hue around him disappearing as Sans approaches him and gives him a pat on the back, his arm coming around the boy's shoulders. "marcus, mark, hey. now, what did i tell you about harassing girls, eh?"

The kid, even though he was now let go, still seemed almost too terrified to talk. But talk, he somehow did. "O-oh. Sans, my man, look, total misunderstanding! These chicks looked suspicious, I swear man!"

Sans tutted, bringing the boy closer to his side, not in a comforting way, but a threatening way. "now, it was three strikes, mark. and this was strike number three. you know what happens when you cross the third strike, don'tcha?" He then turned around, ignoring Undyne and I entirely, looking at Tyrone. "even got a new kid on the block to join in. i'd say you knew very well what ya were doing."

"C'mon, Sans, man, my buddy, please. Just gimme one more chance!"

Sans sighed, shaking his head. "marcus, if i give ya one more chance, i gotta give another one another chance and another. ya see where i'm going here? i've been good to you, tried to get you to understand, turn your life around. but ya just can't do it. sorry, bud, might've been nicer to ya if ya hadn't intended to touch what is mine."

Excuse me? "W-what? Yours?"

"didn't ya read the paper?" What a wanker. He had staged it, gotten Mettaton to take a picture to show off to the press, the whole city, that he had apparently 'claimed' me. I don't remember being asked out, nor do I remember accepting. "lemmi enlighten ya." And, right there, there it was, the paper. Right on the page with the picture of us making out. I didn't blush, but I certainly did look away slightly to avoid eye contact. I knew Undyne was looking at me, more for my reaction to seeing Sans bring it out so unabashedly. "fucking gorgeous, ain't she? and here ya are, tryin' ta ruin her. sorry, bud, ya spent all your get out of jail free cards."

Before Undyne or I could even react, before we even realised what he had done, Marcus was dead on the floor, cyan bones sticking out of him after thrusting up from the ground. He was pierced through his arms, legs, torso and his body, particularly his lower more sensitive and vulnerable parts of his body didn't survive. A row of bones, just thrust out of the ground like some medieval trap underneath set off and tore him apart. He was dead, quickly, bones getting high enough to pierce through his skull, instantly killing him.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. Without a pause, without thought, not even joy or anger, just indifference. Like he had done this a thousand times before already.

Tyrone hadn't frozen, the moment he realised his friend was dead, he made a run for it, leaving his gun behind. Sans' grin grew wider, like he enjoyed the chase a little more, and he held his hand up as if to give Tyrone the same treatment.

I had to step in.

"Wait, Sans, don't!" I stepped forward, shouting, almost made to grab his arm. But Sans moved just out of reach, his arm still up, his left eye glowing cyan with the magic he was about to unleash on the poor kid.

"'don't'?" Sans repeated, confused by my protest. "that little bastard was about to let his friend rape you, he wasn't gonna do shit to stop him. or he'd have killed ya if i hadn't turned up. why should i spare him?"

It still blew my mind how Sans was able to moralise murder so easily, able to brush it off as nothing more than an inconvenience. Even if the kid was horrible and threatened my life, I knew he must've been stuck in some deep shit. He had never held a gun before, and by his reaction he had never seen such violence or brutality before. Probably hadn't seen a murder before either. There must be something... "You gave Marcus plenty of chances, two if I recall. Why doesn't this kid get chances? I mean, did you see the way he looked holding that gun? The kid didn't know how to fire one!"

Sans huffed, annoyed that maybe he was being proven wrong, or that I wasn't exactly being unreasonable. "he's scum, he would've left you to die. no murderer stays in my city, especially when he messes with what is mine."

Again, the whole possessing me shit. Though, it felt like there wasn't an awful lot I could do about it now. "But he didn't do it! I'm sure scaring the shit out of him and killing his friend is punishable enough! He might've only have been involved because Marcus forced him to be! Maybe he's learnt his lesson, the least you can do is give him the same chances you gave Marcus." I don't know why, but I wasn't afraid of Sans. I knew I was getting through to him, making sense to him. I was still horrified by what he had done, it was inexcusable, but there was no way I could testify in court against him. Nobody would believe me, anyway, and I wouldn't want to endanger Undyne like that when she was involved as well. Plus, the guy had been wanting to rape me, I didn't feel too bad for his death, but it was something that shouldn't have happened, if I had any power to stop it.

It seemed, however, Sans was beginning to understand. He lowered his hand, glaring at the retreating form of Tyrone. With a snarl, he turned to me, frustrated, glaring at me. I stood my ground, if he wanted to off me for letting his victim get away, so be it.

After a minute, after Sans had been staring at my chest, lower than the breasts and looking through me, he sighed, suddenly seemingly tired. His eye stopped glowing and he stuffed his hands in his parka pockets. "a'ight, baby girl. you win. he tries it again though and he's fucking boned." I guess that was the best I could ask out of the Judge.

I sighed, with relief. "Thank you. It's the least I can ask for. I won't testify against you about Marcus... I'm not an idiot, I know I can't win."

Sans grinned, a sad one, however, rather than his usual smug look. "'ey, baby doll. trust me, it's for the best. nobody knows this city more than i do. jail time weren't gonna straighten him out when he's already done three counts of rape and one count of burglary." Well, I hadn't known that. However, in a way, I suppose I understood where Sans was coming from. I could understand why he was doing what he was doing, believing he was helping his city and his people. But that didn't make it right, nor did I agree with it. It was just more understanding the motive rather than, say, cannibalism somehow seeming a morally right thing to happen in a city like this. "hey, i saved your life. don'tcha think i should get a reward or summat?" His cheeky grin was back, his expression greedy.

Hold up. "Dude, you murdered a dude right in front of me. I don't think you get a reward for that."

"saved your life."

"I can look after myself, last I checked I was a police officer. Thanks but no thanks. C'mon Undyne, we better get going."

I hadn't forgotten Undyne, but I hadn't realised her expression was one of wonder and amazement. Somehow. Whatever was amazing, I didn't know. I didn't move further than turning around, before Sans grabbed my hand desperately.

"wait c'mon girl. i know ya felt it, ya like me. so. imma ask." Intrigued, I paused, watching as he began to bow. Something I hadn't expected the skeleton to even know how to do. "frisk fanshaw, would you do me the honours of going out on a date, with me?" A what? "c'mon, one date, just one, with me. i ain't such a bad guy when you get to know me. i heard, you don't date guys ya just met. so, let's get to know one another. none of my henchmen, out of my home city, anywhere you'd like. just gimme a chance."

I really wanted to say no, because I mean, he had just murdered someone right in front of me and I was unable to do anything about it. Yet, at the same time, he was looking at me with these... small little pupils in his eye-sockets. Okay, sounded way better in my head. Like he was attempting puppy dog eyes, his grin less smug and more... uncertain, shy almost. His hands were holding each other innocently... like he hadn't murdered a man right in front of me. But, as the silence dragged on, he began to sweat, his hand coming up to rub the back of his skull, looking down in embarrassment.

"'kay. yeah, i mean, i gettit. big bad scary skeleton. it's a lot, i know." That wasn't exactly my reason for hesitating. "you won't be involved, heck you can be ignorant of my work if you'd like. you'd still have your job, i mean. yikes." Sans seems to take a step back. "no wonder you do well as a cop, princess. ya'll giving me the chills with that stare."

Oh. I calmed my staring, looking away with a cough. "Ah. Um. Sorry. Just... it's weird. You're being... awfully nice and genuine. And awkward. I remember you having such brovado before."

"i ain't even been put on the spot before, doll. i uh... i don't get told no." Well, now that answered more than a few questions and I wasn't exactly surprised. Who exactly did say no when he could just make you dead in the blink of an eye. "sorry. i'm not good at this. i've uh... i've never..."

He left it hanging for a while, before I realised. "Wait. Big bad skelly bones here, you've never dated?"

The blue hue that surrounded his face answered my question. "i don't date. at least, not someone who didn't want me first, anyway. since it's my city, loads of girls of course wanted the chance to be princess of ebbott. but, that's all they cared about. i gave them chances, dates weren't really needed. but, every time, i caught them with a human male. never could get 'em off, but you. you're different."

It... it made sense. How he could be so confident when I was of course flirting with him, it was something he was familiar with. But when I fought against it, he had no idea how to react. And this was it, an internal battle with myself. I do remember how it felt, we seemed to bounce off each other. We were both complete arseholes, I certainly was not good cop that was for sure and Sans had a very skewed view on how to protect his city. Not to mention, how much of a tragic thing is this? The cop and mobster. Straight out of a terrible film.

Though, the bad side here was well, Sans was clearly a psychopath, or at least was so used to killing those he felt deserved it that he didn't even blink anymore. He was probably pretty possessive, I mean the newspaper thing for a start, was a big red warning.

Though... I was considering it. Anything seemed better than the monotony of life, doing the same thing over and over again. The days had been pretty lonely, I had nobody in my previous area and here didn't fare better. I was too busy on work to think about going out, since I didn't really enjoy going out either. Much preferring the quiet company if I could. Undyne was an exception. Nobody said no to Undyne either. And, well, I can't deny the fact that Sans did bring a certain excitement into my life. Only, really, a cop dating a criminal, it still seemed pretty sketchy.

But... he was looking at me like that. Like he wanted to steal me away, hide me away, keep me forever. Possessive, sure, but certainly flattering. Or, maybe I was just off my rocker, worse than bone head here. But, I could feel my resolve wavering. Those eyes, man. Hard to believe this was the Judge standing before me. Judging me.

"i can see it in your SOUL. you care about this city, you'd die for this city to be kept safe. same as i would do, to keep this place a safe haven. my brother deserves that. we could work well together. i can see it. you and i, frisk, we've got the same goal. c'mon, give a bone boy a chance? please?"

Oh. To hell with it, the boy could certainly be very charismatic when he wanted to be. I was out of my mind, dating a murdering mob boss. I guess the heart wants what it wants, I'll be willing to give him a chance, see what he is like beneath his mobster facade. I felt like I can't really say no to Sans either.

"Okay, okay! You got it. One chance, bone boy." I told him, holding a finger up. "You've got a chance, but know I'm a hard girl to please." Only because, you know, the murdering thing was still a big black spot on his record. "Remember that I'm a person, not an object, don't push your boundaries, and please keep your temper in check." To me, at least, it seemed like a very reasonable thing to ask for. Be treated like a person, don't be a dick, basically.

Sans' signature grin was back, the confident dick I knew he could be coming back. He chuckled, coming closer to me and wrapping an arm around my waist. Ah, maybe I chose wrong, I started to doubt. "you drive a hard bargain, doll. just the way i like ya. a'ight, i accept. ya'll be treated like a princess deserves, don't you worry. i'll have g.d. drop the details when i got it all sorted, nothing but the best for ya." He coughs into his hand, breaking away suddenly when his phone began to ring. He had the tone of the dark side theme from Star Wars. What a nerd, yet strangely fitting. "i gotta dash, you enjoy the rest of your day with 'dyne, 'kay?"

Holy shit I forgot Undyne was there. Turning quickly, she had the most smug smile on her face I had ever seen that reminded me of Jaws if he ever tried to smile. Like Bruce from Finding Nemo, it reminded me a hell of a lot like that. Menacing and full of danger, for entirely different reasons. I turned back, wanting to ask Sans to help, but he was gone. Teleported. Twat!

"Not a word!" I told Undyne. She kept that smile on her face, almost like she was about to burst and shout out to the world what had happened. "Wait until we're home, at least, please?"

She managed it. As soon as the door closed, however. "OHMIGOSH. THAT, WAS LIKE, THE CUTEST SHIT, I'VE EVER SEEN. LIKE. HE LET HIM GO. ALL BECAUSE YOU ASKED. LIKE. BRO. HE GOT IT BAAAAAAD."

"I think I got a couple of words of what you said." Undyne was hard to understand sometimes, especially when she got excited.

"Dude Sans is like totally tits up for you! He's never listened to anyone before now! The only one who could get him to do anything he didn't want was his brother, Papyrus." Ah, yeah I remembered Papyrus. The tall skeleton at the strip club who was dating that Mettaton guy. The almost polar opposite of his brother, loud and happy, not to mention tall and skinny. It was almost hard to believe they were brothers besides the fact that they were both skeletons. They didn't look even remotely the same otherwise. "His brother probably doesn't even know half the stuff Sans does, he's totally in the dark about most things."

"But... he was in his brother's strip club?" I ponder, confused.

"Papyrus ain't the sharpest tool in the shed." I wasn't quite sure I believed that. Although he did seem innocent enough, I was sure being in a strip club there was no way of hiding Sans' notoriety. "He's adorable, don't get me wrong, he's a lovely kid. He's like the opposite of his brother, always happy to help us, he saved a kitten from a tree once for an old lady. He's pretty friendly with us officers, at least in my precinct." Huh, they really did seem polar opposites, only Papyrus was just as confident it seemed as his brother. That's a shared trait for ya. "His brother knows, so long we keep him from doing anything stupid, Sans doesn't mind. At least he's safe near police officers."

I sat down on the sofa, turning the TV on pretending not to be so interested. "So, Sans does anything for his brother?"

"Well, yeah. It's all he has left of his family." That made me turn my head. Undyne was sitting down next to me now, watching the TV. "I don't know what happened, but Sans and Papyrus haven't had any parents or other family since they've been here. I'm not even sure if they ever had parents. Nobody knows, they just turned up and soon enough Sans took over the city under his wing. It was quick, his power that you saw today is miniscule compared to what he could do. Of course we didn't do anything against him, not when the higher ups figured he was making our job a hell of a lot easier." She shrugs. "I don't agree with it, but there ain't shit we can do about it."

Well. That was human kind for you. Taking the easy route out of things, it was easier to turn a blind eye to these things than to try to confront it when it could be your life you lose. Better someone else's than yours. Not that I don't see why they do it, I get it, I'd have probably chosen the same thing put in that position, but I certainly wouldn't call it noble. Still, there could be worse rulers than Sans. Crime rate had fallen in certain areas of the city, yet skyrocketed in others, like it was being suppressed in a certain area. It was probably the best it was going to get, in all honesty. So, what Sans was achieving was working, to an extent. I just didn't agree with his methods.

"Anyway! Depressing shit aside! We totally gotta get you ready for your date!"

I blanched. "Undyne, we have no idea where he might be taking me, let alone what to wear or anything. I mean... does he even do posh? He doesn't seem the type but all the films tell me mobsters are always super posh."

Undyne sighed. "Oh boy. Think I'm gonna have to get Alphy involved in this."

"No! Besides, she's away to a science convention! There's no way she'd be able to make it in time for the date. Don't worry, I'll just throw a jumper and jeans or something."

"Dude, totally not how you dress for a date. That is not at all how it works."

I was about to argue back, that whole don't tell me what to wear argument, when there was a knock on the door. At this hour? Undyne seemed rather confused as well, so cautiously she got up from the sofa and made her way to the door.

I could tell who it was the moment the door was opened. "I REQUIRE THE SERVICES OF THE HUMAN. PLEASE."

What the fuck was Sans' brother doing here? "Papyrus?"

And, there he was, rushing into the room and doing a somersault over the sofa and landed on his knees in front of me like some acrobatic. I didn't question it. His cape flew behind him heroically and dramatically, despite there being no wind. Magic. "AH! HUMAN FRISK! I CAME TO MY EARS, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T HAVE ANY, THAT YOU HAD AGREED TO TAKE MY BROTHER OUT ON A DATE."

"Well, actually he-"

"I KNEW IT!" Papyrus interrupted me quickly. He seemed very excited, a little too excited to be in some strangers house. "NYEHEHE SANS COULDN'T JAPE ME OUT OF THIS!"

"Um, I'm confused. First, why are you here? Second, how are you here?"

"UNDYNE LET ME IN. I CAME TO TEST YOU, HUMAN." He then stood tall, tall enough to hit the light above him and Undyne and I gaped. "MY BROTHER HAS BEEN THROUGH A LOT, HE DESERVES ONLY THE BEST. SO, HUMAN, WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS TOWARDS MY BROTHER? HMMM?" He stared at me, calculating with his arms crossed and his foot stomped like he was very disappointed in me.

"Uh... this is all rather sudden, Papyrus." I spoke, finally, still getting over my shock. "And... why do you want to know?"

"BECAUSE, HUMAN, I MUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE SUITABLE! MY BROTHER HAS BEEN HURT TOO MANY TIMES BY HARLOTS, AS METTATON CALLS THEM." I was guessing he had no idea what that insult actually meant. "AND SO, I WAS MAKING SURE YOU AREN'T ONE EITHER. DO YOU INTENT TO HARM MY BROTHER, HUMAN?"

"Um, just Frisk is fine and no. I'm also not a harlot, don't worry."

"PHEW. THAT IS A RELIEF!" Papyrus wiped the back of his glove over his sweaty bony forehead. How he was able to I didn't question. "I REMEMBER YOU COMING TO SEE G.D. IN THE CLUB. I ALSO SAW YOU IN THE PAPERS THAT METTATON PUBLISHED." Oh, so he wasn't completely oblivious, then. "IT SEEMS MY BROTHER IS FAIRLY HAPPY FROM WHAT I CAN SEE. YOU DO NOT SEEM TO MIND MY BROTHER'S PRESENCE." He thought for a moment. "VERY WELL, HUMAN! I SHALL GIVE YOU THE HONOUR OF DATING MY BROTHER."

"Ya know, he asked me fi-"

"BUT I SHALL ASSIST! AFTER ALL, YOU CANNOT DATE HIM UNPREPARED! HERE!" Suddenly, from behind him like fucking magic, he brought out a large ketchup bottle. For reasons. "MY BROTHER'S DRINK OF CHOICE. KETCHUP."

"Seriously?"

"OF COURSE. I FIND IT A DISGUSTING HABIT, LIKE THOSE WHISKEY DRINKS OF HIS AS WELL. HOW CAN ANYONE ENJOY BURNING THEIR TONGUE OFF?" This snowflake. He had a point, alcohol was a terrible thing indeed. "PRESENT HIM WITH THIS TO BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF A SUCCESSFUL DATE! TRUST ME, HE SHALL FALL FOR YOU IN NO TIME!" Then he squealed, almost. Like Undyne often does. "FINALLY, MY BROTHER GETS HIS CHANCE OF DATING AGAIN. HE WAS SO UNHAPPY EVERY TIME HE LOOKED AT ME AND METTA. IT'D BE GREAT FOR HIM TO HAVE THE SAME HAPPINESS." That... that was rather adorable. Again, I could see the brothers cared about each other, very much. Only, I was still shocked he had no idea what Sans does behind his back in the alleyways.

"I wouldn't get too carried away, what if he doesn't like me, or it doesn't work out?"

"THERE IS NO HARM IN TRYING! NOT TRYING AT ALL WILL ALWYAS BE A FAILURE! AT LEAST YOU GET A CHANCE THIS WAY!"

"Yeah! You got that right Paps!" Undyne appeared, slapping Papyrus on the shoulders. Papyrus seemed to take it nicely, nyeheheh-ing as he took the full noogie.

"UNDYNE, I MUST ASK. WHY IS THE HUMAN WITH YOU? HAS SHE NOT GOT HER OWN HOUSE?"

Undyne coughed. "Oh, no, Paps, she was just a little spooked yesterday when she fell from the building."

"AH YES, MY BROTHER DID TELL ME HOW YOU FELL. I AM GLAD MY BROTHER CAUGHT YOU."

"So, I asked her to stay at my house until she recovered."

"WHAT A GREAT IDEA!" Papyrus smiled, before he then looked shocked. "OH NO. I FORGOT. SANS ASKED ME TO FEED THE DOGS TODAY. I MUST HURRY HUMAN! BUT DO NOT TELL SANS I WAS HERE. IT IS OUR LITTLE SECRET. WINK." He said wink as he winked, his bones clicking together as he did so. "FAREWELL, HUMAN. AND HAVE A GOOD DATE!" And just like that, he was off again, rushing away like he had a thousand things to do.

"What the fuck has my life become?"

Undyne laughed. "A whole lot more interesting is what!" She wasn't wrong there.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured I should give Papyrus air time. Originally I had thought to have been attacked or robbed, but this seemed more fitting. I just don't see how Papyrus would end up getting attacked randomly, at least not at this point. It just didn't make sense. Maybe in the future? There's a thought!
> 
> Right guys, help time! I totally suck at writing dates, any dates whatsoever. How do you date? Dating advice for these love birds, please! Anything you got, I might eventually come up with something but right now I'm drawing a blank. Kinda why this is shorter, but also the date feels like it needs its own chapter. I plan for maybe semi smut but not explicit next chapter at the end of the date, I got that down anyway. Cuz these lovebirds won't be able to help themselves~ 
> 
> DATING ADVICE PLZ. FOR STORY. NOT ME. :P
> 
> Also yes hot dang is Sans a cold blooded killer. Yikes. I weren't kidding about it mate. 
> 
> SO until next time! Thanks for all your support and am glad you're still reading this and enjoying this fanfic! It's getting longer than I had visioned it to have. Oh well!
> 
> ~Blackie


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's day to day life sometimes has little nice rocky areas in it. Most days it seemed like it was always the same ones going to jail, time and time again never learning a lesson. This time, she is called to a house about a horrible smelling house and is sent to investigate. Well, a piss easy assignment, but at least it's a little different than usual. Especially, when you gotta babysit the camera crew and meet a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing better than feeling ill, headache and sore throat, amiright? Guuuuh.
> 
> So. FYI. Sans date isn't happening yet. It just didn't feel right, but I've got ideas :P so, instead, I thought I'd give a heads up a bit on what Frisk does for her job. So, I chose something that, well it doesn't hit quite close to home, but is often a worry for me; Hoarding. If you're not sure what hoarding is, hoarding is now a recognised mental disorder in where you hoard items whether sanitary or not to a level that you now have trouble going your day to day life even inside your own home. It can be any items, any at all, but the hoarder finds all items valuable, even if they are not repairable or dangerous to their health. It's a pretty horrific disorder that's becoming a bigger problem both in the UK and the US and requires months of therapy and in most cases the hoarder is never cured. I find this kind of thing fascinating, sue me :P
> 
> This and future chapters (I think? Say so if not!) will be beta read and proof read by ShiningWings. Thanks Nokota for putting up with my shit! C;
> 
> That's about it, enjoy this chapter now~!

Chapter 4

My antics from the day off hadn’t gone unnoticed, by either staff members or Greg. Of course, I was immediately called into his office, his howling down the corridor leading me to believe that he hadn’t woken up on the right side of the bed this morning. Joy.

His shouting landed on deaf ears. I hadn’t a care in the world for what he had to say to me. I nodded, hm’d and just took whatever it was he was shouting to me about, then I was sent on my way. I was just about to sit on my desk, ready to be bored out of my mind with paperwork when a constable came running over, informing me that I had been called to duty. It wasn’t a particularly interesting one, but apparently because I had been taken off my previous case unexpectedly, I was suddenly free and perfect for this job. He told me this with all the sarcasm as to make me almost believe him. I could have brought him up on that but it seemed like a wasted effort when he informed me the men I’d be guiding were already waiting at the site.

I was briefed quickly: there had been complaints of a bad smell coming from this building and locals were sick of it. An officer had knocked on the door earlier, but they had gotten no answer. After longer than seemed necessary, finally a search warrant had been issued and we could push in.

I arrived at the scene, the building was a terrace, it didn’t seem very different from the rest of the buildings surrounding it. It seemed about as decrepit as the rest of them, typical for this area of Ebbott. Another police car was waiting nearby and I waited to see the men coming out of the car. One was called Doggo, simply Doggo. He was a dog monster, resembling more a sheep dog but anthropomorphic. He could only see living things when they move although that made him essential when it came to chases. He could hunt down running criminals faster than any dog or person we had, cutting down the need to use a helicopter as often. The other man was Adam Cook, he was often one called for occasions such as these. Just like Doggo, he wasn’t very good when it came to writing paperwork, although we all had to do it. He shined when he was outside in the field, his charisma winning favours with the public. He was the good cop when it came to interrogating people, so naturally I took the bad cop label. I was proud of that achievement.

Then, for some fucking reason, Adam informs me that we are going to be escorting and allowing a camera crew to follow us. “What!? Wasn’t I going to be told this in advance?”

Doggo spoke up. “Ey, why else do you think you’d be doing this job? You’re pretty good when it comes to handling the press.” He had a point. I had thought this was one of my punishments or lack of staff members, as usually it'd be a Sergeant’s duty. But I supposed it was either they didn’t think a Sergeant could do it as well, or this was added punishment. With a sigh of annoyance, I just dealt with it, spotting a couple walking towards us from a nearby 4x4. This was them alright.

The reporter was actually a monster, not surprisingly. She looked beautiful, a lovely Bengal tiger whom sported no breasts surprisingly enough for being rather humanoid looking. She had claws to defend herself with, her hair tied back in a short ponytail and she had her trousers custom made so her tail could move freely without being constricted. She had large feet that somehow fit into black work shoes, simple black work trousers and she wore a nice white jumper that completed the simple look. Simple looked good on her, as her black stripes sure made her stand out in a crowd. Monsters quite often had the more naturally eye-catching looks, and this was certainly one of them. Her partner was a regular human, wearing a cap backwards like a jackass and generic T-shirt and jeans with trainers. Nothing special about him, with freckles, brown hair, and a clean face; he probably couldn’t grow a beard even if he tried.

They rushed over to us as the Bengal tiger brushed through her hair quickly to straighten it for the camera. “Good afternoon! Rhea Mitts from the show "Behind the Law"! Your superior officer, Greg Lanshaw, gave us the a-okay to film your raid on the house.”

I grumbled, “of course he did,” too quietly for the tiger to hear. I put on my serious face, my bad cop face if you will. “Alright, nothing I can do about it now I suppose. Remember, once we give the all clear, you can come inside the house, we have no idea what’s inside that building.” I looked to Doggo and Adam to make sure that they knew I was serious. “We’ve got to keep your safety in mind.” I reminded the tiger.

Rhea seemed perfectly accepting of this, smiling and nodding. She made being the bad cop a real hard job. “Of course! I understand perfectly, I’ve done this quite a few times but each one feels as exciting as the last!” She… monsters sure are something else, aren’t they? She was good. The goodie-goodie reporter, flashing her lovely eyelashes to get what she wanted. They were always the tricky ones to deal with, but she did seem to be genuine. I’ll take her word on it, there probably wouldn’t be too much damage if she did take advantage of seeing inside this house.

I left her to it. I could hear her making her announcement to the audience behind the camera, letting them know a little about the house we were about to enter, the known problem and what we were going to do about it. I didn’t mind the reporters too much when they didn’t ask too many questions like Rhea here; it’s the ones that try to catch you out that you learn to detest quickly. I came to the door, wrinkling my nose in disgust; I could smell the horrible stench from outside. It was a decaying scent, worse than simply mould in the house; it stank of something much worse than that. I had a feeling we might be in need of a mask to get inside the house, but I wanted to be sure.

I knocked on the door, loud and clear. “Open up! This is the city police! We’ve been hearing numerous complaints about the smell in your house; we have a warrant to search this property.” For a few moments, nothing moved, not a sound. I knocked again. “This is your final warning, if you don’t comply and open this door, we will be forced to take action.” I looked back to see Doggo had grabbed the Enforcer and was rearing to go. “Have at it, Doggo.” I stepped back to let the canine have his fun. With a grin, he rushed down the door, battering it with the Enforcer. The door was stuck pretty well and it took another two slams before the door burst open.

I made to enter the door immediately, only to turn away as though I'd been blasted by a water cannon. The smell! It was indescribable! I gagged, almost feeling like I was going to throw up, I could hear Doggo whining and rushing away, his sensitive nose unable to take the horrid stench coming from the house. Holy shit. There was no way anybody was living in that house! The quick glance that I got was of garbage, pure and utter rubbish rotting away. Rhea and her cameraman didn’t seem to fare much better either.

“Oh my… the moment the door opens, you can just feel that smell hit you. Oh fuck.” I had to assume she was going to bleep that out in her editing later.

“Okay! Alright! Nobody is going in that house without masks. Adam, did you bring masks and gloves? Ah, and get me the camera? We’re going to need evidence for this.” He gives the affirmative, his eyes watering about as badly as mine were and he seemed grateful to get away. He brings back masks and rubber gloves, including some for the reporter and her camera man. Adam kept the camera for himself; he always preferred to take the pictures and often took better pictures than I could. “Doggo, wait here, there’s no way you’re going inside that house. You’d lose your sense of smell.” I tell him as I put on my mask. Even with the mask, I was still having trouble breathing without wanting to gag. This type of situation, a house rotting from the inside, wasn’t exactly the most uncommon, but this smell was one of the worst I had ever encountered in my life!

Grabbing a torch from my belt, I took the first step forward. My eyes widened as I took in the state of the house. The electric clearly wasn’t working by the lights hanging on by exposed wires from the ceilings, wall paint was peeling off and there were holes in the walls where it was beginning to rot or be eaten away. There was dirt across the walls, like someone had thrown the rubbish at the walls in their frustrated effort to trek through this death trap. The feeling of stepping into the house was probably the worst of all, to feel the ground giving in and moving as I was stepping on it. The garbage, rubbish, and horrid rotting… whatever the fuck underneath my feet decomposing and flattening as I put weight on it. I began to panic a little at the thought that the floor could give way, only there is solid ground on this bottom floor of the house. It is a feeling I cannot hope to replicate in words. There were flies buzzing around everywhere, there were, funny enough, fly-catches hanging from the ceiling completely filled with dead flies that nobody had bothered to change. This might’ve once been a living room, as there was a TV still standing apart from the rest of the disaster, dusty as anything as if it hadn’t been used in a hundred days. The whole room was brown, yellow or black, the walls might’ve been white or the ceiling white once upon a time, but that was a time long gone. Cigarette butts littered the room, along with possibly food, plastic bags and clearly faeces.

“Okay, you can come in but you must wear your mask or else you’ll be vomiting.” That was no joke, even now with the mask pressed against my face with my other hand. I could still smell it through the mask and I hoped to God I couldn’t get sick from what I was breathing in. Adam cursed, looking around the room in amazement even as his eyes were blinking tears from his sinuses being attacked.

“It’s no wonder the neighbours complained, this must violate so many city codes!” He exclaimed, looking at the ceiling to see the light hanging on by wires. He took a picture of the light and the room in general where we first came into the house. We couldn’t go much further in, unless we wanted to risk being electrocuted. “Jesus, you think anyone has lived here in a while?”

“I’m not too sure.” I said aloud, answering Adam’s question. But, the truth was, this wasn’t the first time. I had to investigate another house looking about as damaged and rubbish-filled as this due to drug charges, believing that there were drugs being grown in the house. There were, but on the top floor, the bottom floor having been used as living space, though barely as the tenants never bothered to throw anything away. This house was much worse, because this person clearly had stopped living a long time ago. This had been built up for years.

“How… how could a person let their house get so bad?” Rhea asked, the reporter must’ve been in for hell of a shock. I had to wonder if she was new to this, or if she doesn’t cover things like this normally.

“This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when a person has given up.” I tell the camera, explaining just how they wanted me to. To save Rhea and give her the chance to absorb this. “I don’t know if a person is still living in this house, I’d say this has been vacant a while. But, this is a case where a person just gives up. These kinds of situations aren’t actually as uncommon as you think, but this is the worst I’ve ever seen it.” I cringed when I spotted a huge spider in the corner of the room, cobwebs as thick as blankets covering the far corners of the room where clearly the occupants had never gone over there since. “I’m going to imagine that the whole house will be just as bad as this. Follow me, we need to see if there’s anyone inside.”

I took the plunge, going first down the corridor, ignoring the stairs for now and heading into the kitchen. It was even worse than the living room in terms of the smell. There were plates and pans in a broken-open dishwasher that probably hadn’t been used in months, covered in dirt and grime. The sink was filled with plates and pans, the water probably hadn’t been running for just as long as mould was growing from the food left on the plates in the sink. Black and brown grime was growing on the cooker hobs. Mountains of rubbish overflowed from underneath where a bin appeared to be hiding, a waterfall of rubbish on the floor where the person hadn’t bothered to take the trash out for weeks. I could see, at the end of the kitchen, there was a fridge and freezer. Gulping, taking a step in, shining my torch to be able to see as the windows were so grimy there was no light shining through them. I took the plunge, being brave, and opened the fridge… Only to want to immediately close it again when the first thing I spotted with my eyes was months-old milk, to smell with my nose absolute death and decay. I gagged, willing myself to not throw up. But, I needed to open it again, as I swore I spotted needles, syringes in there.

“Are you okay?” Shockingly, it was Rhea who asked, instead of Adam. He was silent, strangely.

I nodded. “Twosecs.” I said quickly, not wanting to breathe in any more air from this house. I turn to Adam, “I’ll need the camera, don’t want you looking in here.” He didn’t hesitate, handing me the camera quickly. Okay. One. Two. Two and a half. Fuck. Fuck it. I opened it quickly again, spotting indeed there were needles, however they seemed like prescribed needles and not illegal heroine or anything. Putting my torch back on my belt, I took a picture of inside the fridge quickly, figuring it would be good enough just to see the state of it. I then took the syringe and the vials that came with it, handing them over to Adam and closing that fridge again quickly. That fridge wasn’t on, I hadn’t felt cold air as it was opened, meaning that the food in there had been heating up inside. “Adam, keep those for evidence, I believe they’re diabetic needles but hold just in case.” He nodded, reaching into his bag for plastic bags to put the needles into and keep them secure.

“Do you find houses like this very often?” Rhea asked, for the show, not for personal interest I imagined.

“Not that often, but it’s more often than people tend to think.”

“What will happen to this house?”

I shrugged. “We’re here to inspect the house and find the problem; it’s very clear what the problem is. We’re taking these pictures as evidence so the city council can come to a decision about what to do with this house. Beyond that point, it is handed to them and we have no further involvement about what will happen to the house, provided nobody is still living here.” And that was the true question, was anybody still living here? I couldn’t see how, but I’ve been surprised before.

We doubled back on our path somewhat, going up the stairs, though somehow they weren’t in as bad as a state as the rest of the house. The white walls were now yellow and the handrail was stained brown from years of use and dirt, but the wooden stairs seemed to fare  well and probably were the biggest clear space in the entire house.

The upper floor fared  no better, the stench was just as bad although we had gotten used to it by then. I turned the corner to see that the bathroom was down the hall. I walked forward, preparing for the worst from this room in particular. I took a step into the room, looking around the door only to flinch away. That. That smell. It was definitely faeces. I had only peeked  quickly, but I saw the breaking-point of a human being.  The toilet hadn’t been working for a long time, that much was certain. Because the tenant must’ve been too embarrassed to let a plumber in to fix the job, they had resorted to wearing nappies and throwing them away in this room. They were piled on, the bath no longer usable because of it. I couldn’t step into that room; it simply wasn’t safe enough, not to mention my stomach would not be able to handle it. Quickly, I took a picture as best I could whilst peeking at it the least I could.

I turned to Rhea, “I’m not sure if you want to film that, I’d put a viewer discretion. That is a nasty room. I can have you film it from here, but I can’t let you step inside.”

When she peeked around the corner and flinched away, I knew she wasn’t going to try to disobey me. She asked her camera man to get a good shot of it. “Viewers, what we see here is a prime example of what our police force do for us and what they have to suffer through on an almost daily basis. Whilst this situation is rather rare, as Detective Inspector Frisk Fanshaw had told us earlier, it isn’t as uncommon as others may think. Houses like this one we have viewed are discovered on a weekly basis.” She wasn’t exactly wrong; I didn’t correct her with the true statistics as there isn’t really any to pull from anywhere.

The worst room had yet to be seen. The bedroom. It was filled with dust and spider webs, just like the rest of the house. What was worse was the old lady lying on the bed. She looked to be in her seventies, overweight and clearly living alone. I knocked on the door loudly, but she didn’t react. I stepped into the room, not paying too much attention to the rest of the room and I took a glove off my right hand, checking her pulse. Nothing. As I had thought, she had probably been dead a long time now. Her skin was ashen, her skin sickly looking. She was still wearing a nighty, she had probably died or suffocated in her sleep. I took a step back, taking a picture. “We’re going to need to call forensics. She’s dead.”

A whimper. I turned, surprised. It didn’t sound human and it sounded very quiet. Nobody else seemed to have heard it, Rhea began talking and covering the camera in respect for the woman who lay dead in the bed. I looked on one side of the bed, finding nothing but the usual rubbish. I could still hear the whimpering, small and terrified. Looking on the other side of the bed, I saw a nightstand that had fallen over, lamp broken on the floor and underneath was-

“Oh my God. Hey, hey, shhhhh.” Trapped underneath the nightstand was a dog, a small dog who was whining quietly, like it couldn’t help it. She didn’t seem to be panicking in my presence, but I knew better, she was probably terrified, poor thing. Normally we didn’t touch animals, domesticated or not, but this dog was very small and injured, and alive! Somehow, against all odds, this little canine was still surviving, despite her owner not making it out alive. I was careful, lifting the surprisingly heavy nightstand off the dog. However, the poor canine was too injured or too afraid to move. After moving the nightstand out of the way, I knelt onto the ground right next to the poor canine, stroking her head to calm her down. She didn’t seem to be protesting but she was still whimpering. Very carefully to avoid spooking her, I picked her up, hushing her the entire time and whispering quietly that she’d be okay. Her whimpering got a little louder as I moved her, but she seemed relatively calm, considering I expected her to be in pain. Apparently, she hadn’t been in as much pain as she put on, she was just frightened and probably worried about her owner. She fit comfortably in my arms and she squirmed a little bit to get more comfortable. Her fur was matted pretty badly, however, and she was covered in grime and probably a little underweight.

I asked Adam if he would call the RSPCA so they could take her to see a vet and he did so without hesitation. With my left glove still on, I opened the drawer of the nightstand to see what caused it to be so heavy. Of course, it was filled with vials of insulin. Best bet was the woman’s diabetes had something to do with her death. Or the house itself had killed her. I’d have taken a picture, but I didn’t want to put the dog down, to prevent her running away and getting run over by a car in the street just outside. So I tried my best to jostle and keep her in my arm, whilst attempting to take the best picture I could. It seemed to work enough, the dog didn't complain too much.

After that final picture, we left the house as quickly as we could, remaining outside until the forensics team could arrive to pick up the body. I covered briefly for Rhea and her TV show what would be happening to the body, that it'd be examined for cause of death but rest assured her death wouldn't be treated as suspicious. I was unable to comment on what would be happening to the house, as that wasn’t my decision, nor did I know anything about housing laws or the like. Except the obvious, of course. As soon as the forensics team arrived, however, I was only waiting on the RSPCA van. It turned up, finally, ten minutes later, where they took the poor dog out of my hands. I asked if they could let me know how she was doing, giving them my personal number to contact me, hoping she would make it out okay. They agreed, taking the number before driving off.

Rhea closed off her recording, giving a final speech before she seemed to almost slump, exhausted from today’s recording. She looked to me, giving me a smile. “Hey, thanks for helping us out there.”

I shrugged. “Eh, not a big deal honestly, you’re not a bad reporter, I’m used to more pushy ones. Most would’ve filmed the old woman dead in her bed, for the drama, ya know?” I smiled to her. “You new or is that just how your show works? Honestly, I never watch many crime shows. I’ve got enough crime happening on my streets I have to deal with as it is.”

“Oh.” Rhea coughed, pushing some of her loose hair behind her right ear. “No, um, not quite that. I’m not used to working in Ebbott. I’ve worked in the further areas of the UK. And abroad. Most places outside of Ebbott don’t take to monsters as well, especially when I’m…” She gestures to herself. Presumably, she means her being a tiger. Of course I knew monster racism was still clearly a problem, even in my home city there were racism problems, but I had no idea they’d be hard on her because she was a tiger. Rather, I’d thought her being a reporter would be the black mark. Paparazzi always did get treated badly, though it seemed to just come with the job honestly. A bit like being a cop.

“Don’t let it get to you, I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been called a pig but I don’t let it get me down. I love my job; I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. You seem to love your job, you’ve got a passion for it, just do what you feel is best. And tell those losers to go fuck themselves.” Well, I had to throw something like that in there; otherwise she might think I wasn’t being myself. I’d be a different person.

Rhea looks to the side, for a moment, before she smiles, putting a paw on my shoulder. “Thanks, Frisk. You police officers really aren’t as bad as everyone makes you out to be.”

I smile back to her, “And I guess not all reporters are stalking paparazzi  either. You’re alright, I’ll be sure to let my boss know you can film again no problem.” With a wave and some more farewells, we were soon on our way and out of there. The rest of the day was spent sorting out the paperwork, getting those pictures developed and ready to be sent off as evidence. It would make it a hell of a lot easier for the forensics team to discover the unnamed woman’s cause of death and help condemn the place. It’d be easier to bulldoze the entire thing if it weren’t connected to a terrace estate.

Eh, what do I care anyway? It’s out of my hands now as I send the evidence off to its appropriate location.

Coming home after a long day at work, there was no note or anything, no sign that Sans had let his Goonies into my house without my knowing. Every time, I was still very tempted to leave the city. The prospect of him and I together, his very influence over the city alone was enough to terrify anyone away from him. The city bent to his will and nobody even truly realised. At the same time, I was very excited to try something different and dating a "Lord of the City" of sorts was certainly something different! What would my mother think? That was another job for today… or tomorrow. I had to call my mother, to let her know that I was still alive, saving the city one step at a time. Ugh, a job for later, I would think. For now, feeling tired and horrible, I went to have a shower and get changed into comfortable pyjamas. Then I sat down in bed with a laptop, watching shit films until I grew tired enough to sleep.

For the next couple of days, work was the usual fare and took over my time. Undyne called, wondering if I had heard back from Sans whatsoever. I let her know that I hadn’t and he was probably just joking about the date in the first place. It certainly seemed plausible. Maybe he was just incredibly bored; he had been entertained and now grew bored of me and went to find the next entertainment. I was always too tired from work to do anything more afterwards except watch TV after doing the small chores around my flat. The same criminals kept appearing, repeating the same offences.

“Fucking really, Pervy Pete? Again? Who was it this time? Stacy from the cheerleading group with a football player boyfriend?”

“No! It was Ellen from gymnastics actually! Her boyfriend plays Rugby.” He grumbled, keeping his head down as he was lead to the desk at the police station. His eye was swollen and huge, he didn’t look so good but he’d survive. We didn’t feel sorry for him, it was always the same story and he never learned his lesson. At least he was mostly harmless compared to the other crooks in this joint.

“Oh, so I was close then. That eye’ll look horrific later. I’d give you frozen peas or something if you couldn’t clobber an officer with it.”

“I wouldn’t mind something to eat, though.”

“Damn, should’ve gotten here earlier mate. I’ll see what I can do later. He’ll have his usual cell, you know the one.” I told the person behind the desk, sick of dealing with Pervy Pete already. I knew he was eyeing me up, taking in my figure, but heck, that wasn’t exactly a compliment. Every girl near him got the same treatment, it was no wonder he got the shit beaten out of him all the time. Trouble is he doesn’t know what ‘no’ means. He was the worst attempted rapist I had ever seen, failing to manage it every single time. Good. Meant the girls were doing something right, or the rapists were getting worse. Reminded me of Marcus.

Shockingly, that hadn’t come back to bite me in the arse either. Nobody cared, Marcus was killed by Sans and nobody had reported him missing, or mentioned to the police they had found his body. What happened to him? It was like he literally disappeared. Another thing terrifying about Sans, I knew Marcus had died, saw him being murdered with my own two eyes, and nobody batted an eyelid about him being missing. It was like he truly was forgotten about. Tyrone hadn’t bothered to say anything. Then again, why would he? He almost assaulted a police officer, who is going to take him seriously if he tells anyone that his friend was murdered? And here I am, going about my day to day business as if I wasn’t keeping a horrible little secret all to myself.

Finally, a day off came. I hadn’t heard anything from the vets about the dog I had rescued. Having the day off with no plans for the day, I decided to drop in to the local RSPCA centre to see how she was doing.

The receptionist at the desk was very helpful and kind, thanking me for saving her. Apparently, her injuries weren’t actually too bad and she was recovering much faster than they anticipated. She did need a cast, as she had broken her hind leg, but it didn’t seem to bother her all too much. What did bother her, apparently, was the cone over her head. Oh, that I had to see! The receptionist went to ask the vet if it was at all possible for me to see the dog I had rescued.

The vet was actually rather delighted! He led me to the back to see her.

She was a completely different dog! Her fur, now that she was in the light and no longer covered in dust and grime, was a lovely silver colour. Now that she was clean and her fur trimmed, it was easy to tell what kind of breed she was. A pure-bred miniature schnauzer. Her fur was silver, her moustache a lovely shining white as was her tummy, and her stump of a tail was shaking so badly that the back half of her body was going ballistic. She was the happiest thing on earth, seeing me and clearly remembering me as her saviour, as she hobbled quickly to my side, barking and panting. I kneeled to her level, smiling so wide I felt like my face was going to break. She attempted to climb onto my lap, trying to get to my face to lick the living daylights out of it. The cone around her head, however, made that a challenge, as did her broken hind leg. She didn’t let that defeat her, bashing the cone on my head several times as I laughed, when she finally got to my face. Not a single part of my face remained dry from her tongue, she was entirely too grateful and happy to leave my face be.

“Oh, you remember me, do you? Do you?” I couldn’t help it, somehow when any dog comes into the presence of a human, they all automatically start speaking dumb, like the dog could understand them, and I was no exception. I’d seen it happen in the parks, people immediately speaking like this. I understood it now; it felt like she could understand me, even when I knew logically she couldn’t. The tone of voice was probably enough for her to go wild over. She was gorgeous! She didn’t stand tall, but her fur shined and her moustache looked absolutely stunning! I almost wanted to cry, she’d been through so much, she was scared to even let me see her stuck underneath a nightstand and covered in shit, matted so badly I couldn’t tell what breed she was. Now, she was like an entirely different dog, full of energy, not bothered by a broken leg and filled with love.

After a good five minutes of attempting to get her off me, I managed to stand up, smiling brightly. I looked to the vet. “Thank you for helping her, she looks beautiful and she’s like a completely different dog now!”

“We’re just doing our job; she is such a lovely dog. The helpers here love playing with her, she’s a joy.” The vet told me, smiling as he told me. “She hasn’t been adopted yet, she was tagged however so we managed to see that she has gotten her shots, but she’s due a top-up on those, and many people aren’t willing to adopt dogs who haven’t had their shots updated. They’re costly, and to keep checking on a dog’s broken leg as well, paying for her bills puts too many people off. She could be here a while. According to the details, she is called Sapphire. She hasn’t been spayed either, it’ll be better for her if she is.”

Ah. It was such sad news, to hear that she was unlikely to be adopted. All because of small things like that, that made it too expensive for many to want to adopt, when there were plenty of others who could be adopted that were ready to be adopted right away. I looked down at her, hearing her whining, as if she could understand what had been said. She would be waiting here, watching others get adopted and she would be staying. Watching the world go by behind the bars of her cage. That was no life for a lovely dog such as her. However, I was working for the majority of my time, always busy doing something and never having time to myself even. How would she fare? But she was looking at me, with her big brown eyes, shining in the light above, her whine for attention a plea.

Fuck. Dogs are deadly.

I sigh. “How much are the bills and the shots and everything?”

A fucklot is what. After almost £300 going down the drain (yikes!), I held Sapphire in my arms as she was struggling in vain to lick my face. She was extremely excitable, wanting to get out and see the world, a world she probably hasn’t seen in a very long time. I smile, opening the back of my car door and dropping her down. I got into my own car and drove on, ready to hit the sack at home. Only. Shit. Dog food. I needed that.

I was in and out of the shops fast, leaving the windows open a little and parking in the shade so Sapphire didn’t get too hot in the car. She seemed rather comfortable, almost asleep in the car. Aw. I would get her a collar and lead tomorrow; the shops didn’t sell any I felt fit for her, just simple everyday ones I was sure would make her itch. I got her a food and water bowl. Man, dogs are expensive.

I didn’t regret it in the least. Her face when I put her down in my flat was one of wonderment and excitement. Her tail was wagging fast; she padded along in the room, exploring every inch she could with her nose, her ears up and alert of her surrounding area. I was a little busy to be following her, noticing that there was a package on the floor with my name on it. I was suspicious. My full name. I recognised the handwriting, though I couldn’t place it; it wasn’t my birthday and I wasn’t expecting anything from anyone. Oh. Wait. Except that one guy. But I was expecting a note, not a package. Had I bought something whilst drunk again? It didn’t have an address on, but maybe the postmen just got really good at their jobs.

Ha! Good joke.

Taking the package to the kitchen table, I got a sharp knife and broke the sellotape keeping it shut. I opened the bag to find…

There was a lovely red  expensive-looking collar , with lovely stitching on the top and bottom, a perfect size for Sapphire, with a tag hanging from the collar with her name on it. On the underside of the metal tag, my name and address. Who on earth…? There was also a matching lead inside, the perfect length to take her for a walk out in the streets. Sapphire seemed very excited to see them, as she came to my side and barked. She’d have lifted herself up if her leg wasn’t bothering her, or wrapped in plaster. I smiled, petting her for a moment, before turning back to the package. There was a note inside;

_dear frisk,_

_glad to see ya made a new friend! she looks as stunning as you do. hope she settles in. i’m sure she’s grateful for ya rescuing her. here, got a little present for her, think of it as a get well soon present. bet it’ll bring out her eyes._

_sorry it’s taken me so long to get in contact with you, business has been very busy up town. nawt ya gotta worry over. I’ve finally managed to book us a great time. sorry I can’t tell ya this in person, but i’m sure g.d. will make sure ya get this package safe and sound. i’ve seen ya got the next friday off. perfect! keep it empty, i’ll be arriving at ya flat for 6:30pm and we can go have a nice time. don’t worry ‘bout dressin’ smart-like. ya’ll look gorgeous whatever ya wear (; i’ll be doin’ it, just to show i’m serious about this._  

_can’t wait to see ya there. hope the criminals at the station aren’t giving ya a hard time. let me know and I can help ya out._

_yours sanserely;_  

_sans serif._

The whole watching-me thing, knowing I brought a dog home, a new dog named Sapphire and he knew the collar and lead would look gorgeous against her fur. That would never not creep me out, honestly. I don’t know how he somehow manages it all the time, to pay attention to every little thing I do and lets me know that he knows what I’m doing. Ugh. Not to mention, he knew I would be buying a bowl for her, food and whatever else, but not the collar or lead? How was he able to get it done so fast? To know that the dog was going to be called Sapphire, that I wasn’t going to change her name from the tag. How? The drive had taken no more than twenty minutes, I had thought. This was… a little more than unsettling. Sans proved to me, that yes, anything that happened in his city, he knew about it right away. Somehow, with some omniscient power I couldn’t hope to understand. I’m not sure I wanted to understand something that… dangerous.

I didn’t put the collar on Sapphire, however. She needed the time for her leg to heal and the cone would remain on until her leg became better.

Had Sans really ended his letter in _sanserely_!? Really!? Gotta admit, that was a little clever, if a little lame at the same time. It was… actually kind of funny. Fair play to him. But, wow, I had just over a week to get ready for a date with a criminal boss? What the hell was I going to wear, or do, for that matter? He hadn’t told me in the note where we were going, just that he was going to pick me up at 6:30, which I imagine meant bang on that time. Not a minute late. I had no idea how to get ready for a date, I hadn’t dated in a long time and that was more Alphys’ thing. She always loved going shopping for nice clothes to wear on dates with Undyne, even though Undyne would’ve still loved her to bits if she just wore a bin bag honestly.

Ugh. I couldn’t do this alone. So, after setting Sapphire’s bowl down and letting her eat, while I put my ready meal in the oven to heat up, I got my phone out.

“Hey loser! You still alive then? You heard from Sansy boi?” Undyne picked up on the second ring tone. Wow, eager much?

“Yeah, I have. Listen… two things. I’m going to need some help, he’s got a date set up next Friday but he hasn’t told me where. He said he’ll dress up nicely but I don’t have to. What should I do?”

“Don’t worry yourself! I’m sure my girl Alphy will be able to give ya a hand with that! She says probably something nice but not too expensive or showy, you don’t want to look easy or too eager.”

“Ah.” I had no idea what that meant, honestly. What counted as showy and looking too eager in this day and age? Not a clue. “Oh, one more thing… I’ve, well he left me a gift. A lovely collar and lead.” 

“Wut? You don’t own a dog. Unless…” there was silence, before I could practically hear her grinning over the phone. “Oh, Frisky getting frisky, eh eh!?”

“Fuck off.” She bellows out a laugh on the other end of the phone. For a good five minutes. “I do now. I adopted a dog I rescued. I… she just looked so cute.”

“YOU HAVE A DOG!?” I had to pull my phone away from my ear, waiting to get my hearing back, before I tried listening again. “Oh my God, Alph and I are coming over right now! Stay at home! We’re coming for a sleep over anime night! See you in half an hour!” And she cut off the phone.

So much for a quiet night in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to give Frisk a dog. She totally needs one in her life. Heck, everyone needs a dog in their life~ Everyone, have a dog. Best things ever! We don't deserve dogs!
> 
> My mother owned Miniature Schnauzers for a long time, I had two favourites that listened to all of my problems. Cassie and Lucy; both absolute darlings and my best friends. Love them even now. I don't have a dog now because where I rent they don't let me *sob* SOON. SOON.
> 
> SO. Sans date next chapter? Probably, I'll try to get on that haha until next time! c:
> 
> ~Blackie


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk prepares for her date with the help of Undyne, Alphys and Sapphire's support. Sans arrives at the exact time he said he would. DATING START.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh. I'm sorry I took so long getting this done. This was pretty tricky to write, but I think a lot of you knew I would be having trouble writing this haha. But I've finally done it! Here it is! And it probably isn't anywhere near as exciting as you expected it. Oops. Oh well. 
> 
> Thanks again to ShiningWings for betaing for me! Sorry I've been rather insufferable lately, you put up with so much haha :P 
> 
> Not a lot to say this time. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 5

I didn’t get the quiet night I had hoped for. Undyne and Alphys were true to their word, turning up at my house in half an hour with some anime. I don’t remember the titles of the anime, I couldn’t even read the titles of them, but I vaguely remembered the plot.

Something like… a bunch of school students end up staying behind in school after helping out with the culture festival when they are suddenly kidnapped by a vengeful spirit and sent between the worlds in their school. A vengeful child spirit who was angry because she was thrown off a balcony and as such caused anyone who stayed behind after 7pm in the school disappear. It was… pretty Japanese, all the school girls wearing super short skirts so that you could see their underwear in almost every shot. The boys looked pretty effeminate. It was your typical Japanese anime. I had grown used to it, hanging out with Undyne and Alphys, I kinda had to.

It was meant to be a horror anime, but even Sapphire didn’t bother to spare a look at it. Undyne and Alphys, however?

“OOOOH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE THAT FREAKING SHIT THAT GHOST LADY PULLED?”

“S-s-she just… let that zombie e-eat his face off!”

Yeah. Sapphire yawned in my lap and turned her head away from the screen. At least somebody could just not watch the show unlike some of us. Although, this one wasn’t actually so bad, this one was kind of hilarious. Whilst Undyne and Alphys found it creepy and scary, I thought it humorous. It was hard to take something that threw so much blood and gore that seriously.

Then came tentacles. Somehow.

“OKAY that’s enough anime night!” I quickly grabbed the remote and turned the TV off.

“Aw what!? But it was getting to the good part.”

“B-but… what if she forgives her?”

“I’m not really into the whole tentacle rape, especially with kids, thank you very much.” I sighed, petting Sapphire as she breathed out heavily in her sleep. Then realized. “I mean, no judging! Since it’s a cartoon and all!”

“Ha, nice save arsehole.” Undyne snickered, stretching her arms high above her head and yawned. “WELL. Time for bed, got the shit shift tomorrow, middle of the sodding day to the night. You’re working 8 – 4 Thursday, right Frisk?” I nodded, 8am until 4pm. Could be worse. “Cool, I’ll pick you up at four and then we’re going shopping.”

“What, why? What for?”

“DUH. The fuck are ya gonna wear to Sans’ date? I know your clothes, you got shit all that’s even decent!”

“Jeans and jumpers are fine I’m sure.”

“OH HO HO. Frisky baby we’re gonna have to teach you 101 of dating!”

“Y-yeah!” Alphys piped in. I felt cornered by the scaly monsters. Sapphire snored on my lap. “Y-you cannot have a successful date if you d-don’t follow the steps!”

“Guys, really, he’s asked _me_ to a date, not the other way around. I don’t need to impress him.”

“Trust us! Clothing matters! How would you feel if Sans came over in some swanking tux, and there you are, looking like a scrub?”

“Uh…” She had a point. I’d feel pretty embarrassed, it was more about the lack of effort than anything else.

“Exactly! So, we won’t go too overboard, or else you’ll seem desperate. We gotta do the rounds of the shops and get the perfect outfit!”

So, for the next five days, I was dreading going out shopping and the days just passed by quicker than I had hoped they would. The same criminals coming and going, traffic offenses, dumbasses attempting to rob a shop but failing miserably at it. One that took the cake I had to listen to on Tuesday morning. A dragon monster had been sitting at a coffee shop, reading his paper and drinking his tea, when he suddenly sneezed. He hadn’t meant to, but flames erupted from his mouth and caught a nearby rabbit monster on fire. Luckily, people in the coffee shop reacted quickly, dousing the fire with water and his fur was slightly singed but not much else.

Too bad they couldn’t leave it alone and the rabbit caught me as I was making my rounds on the street.

“Hey, officer! This dumbass here just set me on fire like five minutes ago! Could’ve dusted me!” The male rabbit patted the floor angrily, I wondered if it was a reaction to his temper, his fluffy tail was twitching rapidly. His ears were all over the place, agitated and his nose wrinkled. Bunnies were just too adorable when they were angry, but I tried my best to remain professional. I asked for both their statements, so I could hear both sides of the event. They matched, shockingly, both telling me that the dragon had sneezed and the bunny caught fire. He’d been put out by customers in the coffee shop.

“So, what’s the problem here?” I ask, confused as to why I was even listening to this.

“Problem!?” The bunny screeched, causing myself and the dragon to flinch. “He could’ve dusted me with his fire! Attempted murder, I say!”

“But I can’t help it! And I said I was sorry, I can pay for damages to your clothes.” The surprisingly shy sounding dragon apologized. He was wearing a nice shirt and tie, like he’d just come back from a business meeting.

“Sir, you are aware, you being a monster, you could only be dusted directly by him if he intended to kill you?” The bunny monster paused. “He couldn’t have killed you. I know full well a direct attack on a monster by another being has to have intent behind it or the damage can’t be lethal. This wasn’t attempted murder but an accident. His flames aren’t exactly a weapon, per say, he has the right to use his magic so long as it isn’t for malicious reasons. There’s not a lot I can do.” I shrug. It was the truth. Technically, his fire breath wasn’t a weapon since this was normal for him and his personality told me that he wasn’t one for setting fire to rabbits as a hobby. With his stance of holding his head low so as not be noticed and his wings pulled in and almost hugging himself, he was very clearly uncomfortable with any attention. Yet, he probably went to business meetings and probably had a better job than I. So there wasn’t really a good reason to punish him, he even offered to pay for the damages! “My advice to you is to take his offer for payment of damages and move on.” I look to the dragon, he seems to shrink under my critical eyes. “Sir, might I suggest you keep a flame proof hanky to cover your mouth when you sneeze? It might prevent similar incidents from happening and make your life a whole lot easier.”

The dragon smiled slightly, nodding and he thanked me, stuttering slightly. He huffed some smoke out of his nose, tail swishing to the side, seemingly grateful I wasn’t going to take further action.

“Wait, that’s it? That’s all ya gonna do?” The rabbit, however, didn’t seem pleased. He stood there in his jeans and wrecked tee shirt, arms crossed as he directed a glare at me that made me want to hug him rather than step back. Sheesh. Bunnies.

“You seem fine to me, he hadn’t meant to burn you, the only thing that got wrecked is your shirt. There’s nothing else I can do on this matter. Good day to you, sir.” I tipped my hat in farewell, leaving the rabbit steaming on the pavement outside the coffee shop.

“This is why the cops are fucking useless in this city.” It wasn’t the worst I had heard, but it annoyed me just the same. I ignored it, whatever he felt like wasn’t my problem.

Wednesday didn’t seem to go much better either. Same shit, different day honestly. A pair of Migosps were brought in because they beat up a random person. “BECAUSE THE HIVE MIND TOLD US TO.” If I had a pound for every time a Migosp told me that, I wouldn’t be working a job again in my life. Once they were separated and left on their own, they were perfectly fine. But when two Migosps met, it was like they went into a frenzy, they go ape shit and begin attacking random people or monsters, causing mayhem, breaking shit, stealing stuff, they became petty criminals and their only reason is because the hive mind. Whatever that is. Some brainwashing shit I didn’t know. Undyne had no clear idea as to why, it was only Migsops. She told me that they’d always been that way and were a massive pain in the neck. Maybe Migosps were just extremely territorial and went on a frenzy? I wasn’t sure, not sure I wanted to try to unravel that mystery. A few days in the slammer and we’ll release one first, giving them a few hours, before releasing the other and hope they go in different directions. The city was huge, chances are they wouldn’t bump into each other again for a long time. Hopefully.

Thursday came. The day at the forces hadn’t been much different from other days, dealing with domestic complaints and having to keep traffic clear after a monster crashed his car into another. Nobody had been hurt in the accident, but the cars didn’t make it out. It was a good thing the monster claimed his insurance and nobody was hurt. Just people were annoyed when traffic had to be redirected. It was the usual day of dealing with petty crimes.

The shopping… oh boy. It took a long time to be able to convince Undyne and Alphys not to get me into a dress. I wasn’t ever comfortable with a dress, it just seemed… like I was showing off a weakness or something. It was hard to explain, but I felt exposed in a way nothing else could make me feel, wearing a dress or a skirt. Undyne didn’t get it, Alphys did to some extent and decided to go for a different approach. If I refused to wear a dress, then surely, I could wear something that looked similar, but wasn’t actually a dress.

“Like what?” My knowledge on clothes matched my knowledge of sports. Bugger all except the bare basics. Whilst I kept fit with jogging and going to the gym, beyond that I knew very little about how to play sports. I went to the gym and jogged more for the necessity than the pleasure of getting fit. It made my job a hell of a lot easier too.

Alphys managed to find something that I could agree with. A cream-coloured knit shirt, acting like a long jumper that reached well past my hips, but not to the knee. It seemed like it had a knitted pattern on it and it felt very comfortable to wear. She grabbed a pair of jeggings as well, because apparently I needed to show off my figure and drive Sans nuts. I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or if that would make things worse. However, I loved the idea of getting the upper hand on the little prick. He always seemed to be one step ahead of me. It would sure boost my ego even slightly if I could surprise the guy.

Undyne laughed, seeming to agree. “You gotta blow his mind with your sexiness! You always said he’s an arsehole, why don’tcha just surprise him?” She put her arm around my shoulder, grinning.

That’s how, the next day, I spent the morning mostly in bed reading the news from my phone. I let Sapphire snuggle next to me, her dog bed was right next to mine, but every morning I wake she’s suddenly lying next to me. She isn’t asleep, but she is lying beside me. My hand that wasn’t touching my phone was absentmindedly stroking her head. I was sure if she were a cat, she’d be purring. Having a pet helped a lot with the loneliness, even if they can’t talk to you. They are something real, a living being with feelings and thoughts.

I didn’t move until Undyne left me a text at about one in the afternoon. I didn’t feel bad about not moving, police work tired me out physically and mentally. Her text was basically her reminder of not to stay in bed all day, because you’ve got to get ready for the big date today. It wasn’t until six what the balls would I need five hours for!? I was sure an hour before would be plenty of time to get changed.

I began getting ready two hours before. Just to make sure, of course. I got changed quick enough, taking about as long as usual. Although, I took the time to brush my hair. Undyne freaked when she realised I hadn’t brushed my hair in weeks. When your hair was short, nobody noticed and it barely made a difference. Going on a date, it only seemed appropriate to put some effort in. I didn’t own much jewelry, and felt maybe that’d be too much showing off. Sigh. I had no idea what I was doing. Dating was just not my thing, not at all. But I also felt like I couldn’t really refuse. Not like he’d shoot me or anything, I just felt like he would make my life difficult if I didn’t comply. Maybe. Possibly. OK, so a big part of it, really, is that I do kinda like the guy. What? He’s a good kisser!

I walked out of the bathroom, noticing that Sapphire had turned to watch me, having heard my movements. “Well, how do I look?” She yawned, shaking her head and lowering it onto her front paws. “Look, I’m no good at this. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m winging it, hoping for the best.” Her ears twitched, she glanced at me, then away again. “Well, you’re not barking at me, I can only assume it’s not awful.”

I grabbed a beer, knowing my nerves wouldn’t calm down unless I had something. Coffee would’ve made it worse, so beer was probably the better call. Not enough to get even tipsy, just enough to relax. Reading the newspaper, listening to the TV talking in the background, I drank my beer waiting for the inevitable. I was nervous as hell, having no idea what to expect from this. Would I be under-dressed? Eating at the nicest fancy restaurant? Or would I end up in a back alleyway and trapped in a McDonalds or something? Sure, Sans had his money, but he didn’t flaunt it. He barely flaunted his power, most people having absolutely no idea who he really was, supposedly. They figured he just owned the building Mettaton ran his business in. Well, that wasn’t a lie. Just the tiniest bit of truth. Sans surprised me a lot, I had a feeling that this date might surprise me as well.

The doorbell rang. Sapphire was instantly out of the chair and barking at the door. She leapt at it, scratching and demanding that I open it. How she went from zero to sixty when I almost thought she was sleeping a moment ago, I hadn’t a clue.

“Sapphire!” She turned her head towards me, wagging her tail and barking again. Like she was telling me there was someone at the door. Dogs were strange, sometimes. She refused to move, and so I was forced to open the door and watch as she pushed her nose through it. As she pushed the door the rest of the way open I was about to scold her as she leapt up at the visitor but I forgot everything as I saw him there at the door. And oh boy. He dresses up nice, for a skeleton monster. He wore a black fedora with a single band running across and a silver plate of a dragon skull on, a navy-blue shirt with a blue blazer over the top, the top couple of buttons undone to show his bony neck. He wore white trousers with a belt on super tight by the looks of the top of them. I felt rather bad for being amused by that, it wasn’t his fault that he was a skeleton; clothes didn’t really come in skeleton sizes. His belt held the same silver buckle of a dragon skull. Perhaps it was a family crest? He was also wearing black leather formal shoes to match. For someone I didn’t think liked any formalwear, he sure didn’t look half bad and he did put in some effort. More than I felt I could say for myself, using the barest of make ups, enough to cover my panda eyes and that’s about it.

And Sapphire leaped up at him, high enough and surprised him enough that by instinct he held his hands out. He caught Sapphire, who was very enthusiastic about it all, proceeding to lick his face and almost poked her nose straight into his… nose hole.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Jesus Christ dog!” I quickly grasped her in my arms, pulling her away from Sans’ face and smiled apologetically at him. He didn’t seem that bothered, mostly shocked, but then he was laughing whilst wiping his face with his hand.

“hey babe, it’s no problem. ‘least someone is happy to see me, eh pup?” Sans bends forward, smiling at Sapphire. I could feel Sapphires tail wagging against my arm, and she leaned forward to lick his nose hole. Sans flinched, probably from her tongue (unless his nose hole was sensitive?) before he chuckled. “she’s very friendly for a dog for having gone through what she did.”

Again with the ‘knowing what I had for breakfast’ and everything. “Look. That whole… thing with knowing everything about me? _S_ _till_ creeps me out a _little_ bit.”

Sans’ grin doesn’t falter, though he tries to look apologetic, which is something. “sorry, i find it a hard habit to break, doll. I’m too used to being in the know, i guess. nothing happens in my city without me knowing about it. you’ll see what i mean, hopefully one day.” He winks, his smile putting me at ease, despite the words he just told me. He was easy to relax around, probably because of his unconcerned posture and voice. Like he hadn’t a care in the world. Honestly, being the Judge and untouchable, it’s no wonder he appeared as such. Appearing unperturbed over something horrific or terrifying was actually a pretty good tactic to scare your enemies and remind them of your status and power. Or, that you were a madman. Either one worked. It’s why I still looked at Sans like he might blow my head off, you can’t be that casual about knowing everything such as this unless it became a normality. The fact he thinks I might one day understand, however…

“Yeah, not sure stalking is going to be my prime-time hobby mate.”

Sans laughed, involuntarily slapping his knee in his mirth, the strange, gentle scrape of bone hitting fabric rather a surprise in place of the expected slapping sound. “well, if that’s what ya wanna call it, darlin’. see, ya’re a new thing, trying ta work ya out. you’re a puzzle, sweetheart, and if my brother taught me anything, is that you don’t leave puzzles unsolved.” He tilted his head slightly, like he was thinking, or talking to himself. “not to mention, showing absolutely no interest about the idea of knowing the entire city, my fortune or anything. even standing up to me, for a little lone monster-hater.” Sans shrugs, “at the time, i wasn’t sure if you were stupid, naïve or arrogant. none of them really fit you, though. it’s… a bit of a mystery, honestly.”

“Well, as soon as I realised there was no point, I stopped bothering.” I told him, taking a moment to place Sapphire down onto the ground. “When there was absolutely zero chance of solving the crime and a pretty high likelihood of being hurt in the process, I gave up.” Well, that’s what I was _going_ to tell him, anyway. But also, thinking about it, was keeping Sans behind bars really the right thing, in the end? There I was, thinking something too complicated that I shouldn’t be. “I know my limits. I don’t agree that you’ve bested me, however.” I glared when I noticed his grin became a little wider. “I’m just waiting for the opportune moment.” Sans didn’t seem at all bothered by this, his grin unwavering. “Anyway, where are we going then?” I asked as I was about to step out of the door.

“oh uh.” I looked to him, and he seemed to be hesitating, which was oddly out of character for him. He cleared his… well, made the sound of clearing his throat without having a throat to do so. “actually, there’s something i want to show you, but…” He looks out to the streets. “i don’t really want to show it off here.” I blinked, staring at him. He realised the problem. “ah no, it’s not dangerous. promise. I just don’t like… an audience.”

I crossed my arms, skeptical. “I’m not exactly willing to be whisked away alone with you, why would I be?”

Sans seemed surprised. How was he even surprised? What could he have possibly done to earn my trust? “well, it makes getting to the place I want to take you to difficult otherwise.”

“I’m fine with that. I live for challenges.”

“okay, i lied getting there is completely impossible without this.”

“Guess we gotta go somewhere else for this date.”

Sans looked like he wanted to punch something, or someone. His lips pulled enough that if he were less in control he’d be snarling. His fists were almost shaking, his eye showing the smallest hint of blue. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath for a second or two, before his grin came back and his eyes were normal.

“i see, yeah i get it. everything has a price, right? if somebody came to me and just presented to me a gift for the simple reason of giving it, i would be rather suspicious myself, poppet. so, how ‘bout we make a compromise? a trade for a trade?” Huh, what a sudden change of atmosphere. A moment ago, I thought Sans was about to punch me, but suddenly he regains his composure just like that? With a deal? Interesting… I hum, keeping my arms crossed as I listened. “remember that trick of mine where i saved you from becoming a human pancake?” He realised I was curious about that?! I must’ve let it slip from my face as his grin suddenly grew wider. Fuck. Played entirely into his bluff and game. He now knew that I wanted what he had. “all ya gotta do is hold my hands and close your eyes, baby girl. Surely, that ain’t a difficult task for an officer such as yourself.”

That’s it? For showing me his powers, he just wanted me to hold his hands and close my eyes? In the small time that I had, I tried to think of what he could pull with that. His hands would be in mine, both of them, so he couldn’t pull a weapon fast enough before I could react in time for it. I was still right by my house, so nobody could sneak up behind me. Kissing me wouldn’t… really be so bad. But if I needed to, I could overpower him easily. So… was there really a risky thing about this? I mean, the gesture itself was one of trust, a big amount of it. Something I didn’t hold much of for Sans, but he wasn’t going to show off his magic otherwise. It was the implication that I trusted him that had me hesitating, the actual hidden message to this act rather than the act itself. My pride was telling me not to trust him, that it wasn’t worth it. I had a reputation to hold, being seen holding hands with him, trusting the Judge, of all people, could only spell disaster. On the other hand… getting friendly with the Judge could get me closer…

I stopped my thoughts there. I became an officer to not be like those corrupted ones who used people. I wouldn’t go that route, it would only prove that I was as bad as the criminals that I put behind bars.

Sans held out his hands, raising a brow bone and watching me. He wasn’t pressuring, but leaving it open for me to decide to grab his hands or open the door behind me and leave. It was a silent encouragement, the promise that he wouldn’t attack and everything was going to be okay. I wasn’t sure I believed him entirely, but I couldn’t see enough negatives in this situation to not take his hands.

Okay. I can do this.

I trusted him enough to not utterly screw me with my eyes closed, but a tight grip on his hands.

With a sigh of resignation, I grabbed his hands. I spotted the grin on his face becoming a smile, before I closed my eyes.

“good girl. now, hold on tight, you’ll feel a lurch like a lift moving and feel a brush of wind, but that’s the worst. just remember, pumpkin, don’t open your eyes until I say so.”

“Just get this over with.” I sigh. I was beginning to feel like I was going to regret my decision to trust Sans enough for this. Then, true to his word, I felt like a lurch, the ground beneath my feet seemed to vanish, like I was falling. I yelled out in alarm, grabbing onto Sans tightly for dear life, fearing I was going to die. It didn’t quite feel like falling, more that the ground just suddenly… didn’t exist anymore. My body didn’t feel like falling, but like I was floating. Which seemed impossible! How!?

I was about to open my eyes in reaction, but felt Sans’ hand cover over my eyes. He did it gently, without force, though I still flinched at the feeling. “no no, darlin’, trust me. I got’cha.” He whispered calmly. I tried to pull away, but Sans kept a grip, not a tight one, but enough as a warning that letting go was probably a bad idea. It felt what I imagined being stuck floating in space would be like, where pressure just ceased to exist, you were floating somewhere out of your control and you had no idea where you were going. I tried my best to keep my promise, to not open my eyes no matter how tempting it might be. The slight pressure of his hand over my eyes helped, maybe not my nerves, but certainly the want to open my eyes and risk my eyeballs popping out or something. That was something that happened in space, was it? I have no clue.

Then, I touched ground, felt the wind blow again. I took in deep breaths, afraid to open my eyes, I slowly realised I was shaking. I felt Sans move, still holding onto my arms, moving one to wrap an arm around me. One hand held mine, as he lead me slowly. I almost wanted to push out of his grip, but I was worried I’d still somehow float away if I did. Even as I felt solid ground under my feet, could hear traffic from below of the city (below?), I still wasn’t entirely convinced I wasn’t in outer space.

“okay doll, you’re safe. you can open your eyes now.” Sans spoke softly, he didn’t want to frighten me. I took a deep breath, worried about what I would find once I opened my eyes. My mind thought the worst, without having any idea what the worst could be. I took the chance and opened my eyes.

“welcome to my perch, darlin’.”

In front of me, railings protecting me from a fall from a building so high up, was the city. The entire city of Ebbott; it certainly looked almost like the entire city of Ebbott with how huge it was, stood before me! The sun was setting, and so the city lights began to turn on. The sky was becoming orange, the sun beginning to disappear around the Earth. The buildings seemed to go on for miles, all various different heights, but none reached taller than this building. One, MTT Nights I was surprised to see, was still below the height of this building. The massive sign shone lovely on the side of the building, bright blue and pink to grab your attention, MTT in pink, Nights in blue. There were obvious office buildings with most of their lights, but for some of people working into the late evening who had theirs on. Some of the banks still looked like old buildings from when this place started as a town rather than building into a city, showing off its age and where it all began. There was another building notable to me, an old church that no longer served that purpose anymore. It had been bought by a family, a rich one but nobody knew who. It was kept in the same form, externally, they say, but converted into a home from the inside. From the ridiculous height we stood at, where the air felt colder than below in the city streets, I could see where the roads lay, buildings kept apart where the roads cut through.  On and on, into the distance, more buildings I had no idea even existed. It dawned on me, right then, how huge this city really was. And this was just this side.

But, most importantly; “What…? How did… where…?”  I blinked, several times. So, we were clearly still in Ebbott if the MTT Nights building had anything to go by. I looked to Sans, startled and his grin grew wider at my expression. He didn’t take his arm off my shoulders.

“don’t worry, darlin’.” He breathed. “we ain’t too far away. I don’t like to show it off, but that’s how I caught ya from falling.”

“So you…” I paused. “You teleport.”

Sans thought for a moment. “well, it’s the best word for it, yeah. I never had it categorized with enforcers. else this power might be abused, people askin’ me to do shit” Yeah. _Like you don’t abuse it yourself, anyway_ _._ “or I get locked away. either way, I wasn’t gonna be a winner. I’d appreciate it, doll, if ya kept this to yourself.”  Telling me that… it made me realize how much trust he had in me. Why? What did he hope to achieve by showing me his magic? What does he see when he looks at me? “now, look. this is the city of ebbott. this is the city that ya work so hard to protect. a city you barely even know.” Sans huffs. “if ya gonna protect it, ya should at least know what it looks like. that there is the rich quarter, southern ebbott, sectors one and two if ya’ll confused.” Undyne worked in sector two, the side I knew would be to the right of us now. It seemed to be where the rich families lived, away from the businesses and the politicians that would be discussing any changes to our city without our knowledge. Sector one dealt with those problems. “we are just on the edge of the rich quarter; this place has the best view of the entire city.”

“Where are we?” I asked, taking in the entire view and making a note of every single building. Most looked like banks, top of the range expensive shops or office blocks. The roads weren’t too busy, most people here preferring to walk through these streets. There was even a park, further ahead in a break between buildings. It wasn’t much, but it was something and looked more immaculate than any space being used as a park. Like it was there more for decoration. Rich folk always did seem to live in a completely different world to ours. It even looked different, looking at it from the side lines.

“we’re standing on the top of dreemurr tower.” I blanched. Dreemurr Tower!? This was the tower that was named after the Prime Minister himself, Asgore Dreemurr. Whilst he didn’t live here anymore, he had originated from this city, before he moved to the capital. The tower was named in his honour and was currently serving as a tall office block. The tower didn’t really have anything special to it, like most knew what Canary Wharf was but few knew what happened within it. There were some shops, granted, but beyond that, not many people really knew besides the ones that worked there. Dreemurr Tower was also the tallest building in Ebbott, and Sans just happened to be able to teleport to from ground level without any trouble at all.

“That power… Okay. I can see why you didn’t tell anybody about it.” I let him off the hook. This was pretty amazing, but to imagine from a police’s point of view, the damage that could be done if anyone ever had this power if they weren’t Sans. If they weren’t already on top of the world? Ebbott would suffer, a lot.

“like to keep it that way, sweet cheeks.” Sans winked, his smile back on his face. He leads me to the side, following him along the railings to see the entire of Ebbott. As the sun was beginning to set, the city looked just as gorgeous as I expected. Then… as we kept walking, looking away from the rich quarter, you began to see where the care and attention began to run away. The buildings, no longer looking as pristine or shiny as before. They looked more dated, aged in a way that looked as though someone had stopped taking care of them as much as they could have. The shining silver buildings began to turn brown with age and neglect. Cracks were visible in these buildings, vines growing up their walls, some even embedded into them. Their windows were shut, laundry lines hanging from window to window and washing hanging out on some buildings. They were more clustered together, the pathways to walk around hidden under the almost conjoined buildings. One could easily run from rooftop to rooftop in this district. It wasn’t overcrowded per say, but it looked pretty primeval compared to the rich quarter of the north. It went on, all the buildings looking disheveled, broken in some way but livable.

Then, there, in the distance. Beyond the lower classes, beyond the lives of humans and monsters living the poorer living standards, stood a monster of a mountain. It was barely visible, snow covering the top of the giant landmark. It stood tall, unmoved and untouched by the possible thousands of years it had been there, looming in the distance over the entire city.

“that mountain there,” Sans spoke with wonder in his voice, as he too stared at the mountain. “that’s mount ebbott.” The mountain from which the city got its name, that loomed close by. Not many had actually seen the mountain, the fog and clouds surrounding the mountain constantly, as if it were a bad omen. “the saying goes here in the city of ebbott that this mountain is the one thing keeping this city going. that mountain protects us from the snow storms that batter the area on the other side of the mountain. the reason ebbott never sees snowstorms and gets the smallest bit of snow is because the mountain protects this city.” I looked to Sans, his face seemed serious as he spoke. He talks about it like it’s a story, something to listen to, but not to take seriously. And, yet, his face showed, he took this story seriously. He was watching the mountain, afraid that maybe it would one day… “there’s a saying that if the mountain should ever fall, ebbott would freeze over and be battered to extinction from the snowstorms that the mountain pushes back.”

“But that’s just a saying!” I was incredulous, to think that all that stood between living and dying was the mountain in the distance. “Besides, it’s a mountain, it’s not like it’s gonna just walk away. We’ll be fine.”

Sans smiled, looking to me finally. His worries didn’t disappear, however. “yeah, true that. just worries me hearing about this global warming. what if the snowstorms become too much for mount ebbott to handle? she can only hold back so much.”

“Isn’t Asgore doing anything about it?” I push away from the railings, facing him properly. “This is his home city, where he came from. Shouldn’t he care more about what happens to this place if it’s true?” But, then again, stupid thinking, what did the politicians know about the hard life? They probably thought global warming was a myth and that they were untouchable above Mother Nature Herself.

Sans shrugs. “i’ve been pushing it. if he won’t, I’ll force my hand. this is my city, after all. i’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that the snow never reaches it.”

Huh. I smile. “You know, I thought you were just a power-hungry arsehole, for the longest time. But, I think you do actually care about the people of this city.” I turn back to look at the city, to watch the people moving around down at the bottom like ants. I cross my arms, lowering my head on them. “You just have a strange way of showing it. Maybe you don’t want anyone to know?”

Sans doesn’t say anything, not for a long while. Then, he does the same, crossing his arms and putting his head down on top of them, but his eyes, I could feel them watching me. “that’s why I think ya strange, miss fanshaw.” He pauses, for a moment, long enough for me to turn to look at him. He had his grin still on his face, but his eyes seemed less intense, somehow. “ya were quaking in ya boots, sure, but you don’t care about what I can do or who I really am now that ya know i’m the judge. well, actually maybe that ain’t quite right. ya know i’m the judge, ya know who I am. ya just don’t give a shit. ya still had fight in ya, even when everybody else woulda just gone with what I said without arguing at all. it makes no difference to ya, ya saw me kill little marcus, ya didn’t tell a soul. so, why’d ya say yes?”

What was best to go for here? The truth? I wasn’t even sure why I said yes, let alone what I was going to tell him. I saw that I had no choice, I’d just have to date him to keep him happy or else risk losing my reputation or whatever else he could come up with to make my life difficult. There was that thought of going on a date with him to get closer, to maybe use that to my advantage and find a way to get him locked up in jail, even if it were a minor thing. He’d need to pay for the murder of Marcus somehow, regardless of whether Marcus deserved it or not. Murder was wrong, either way.

But neither of those felt like the correct response. They didn’t quite feel like the reason I was going on a date with Sans, in the end. The real reason?

“Guess I’m just a gambling girl, but mine is the same reason as you asking me out on a date. You’re different, most criminal leaders don’t do well by their underlings, yet you treat this city so carefully and keep her in line. Sure, the punishments could do with some work, but you mean well by what you teach. It’s strange. I’m only fighting you because you’re going about keeping the city safe in the wrong way.”

Sans watched me the entire time I spoke. For a while, he didn’t say anything. “What? Is it really that unbelievable that a police officer can actually tell you give a shit about this city rather than that you’re just a murdering monster?”

Sans smiled, an actual smile rather than a grin. It seemed different, the bones on the side of his mouth creasing slightly and his eyes seemed to reflect the same response a human smiling would. Rather than looking smug or confident, he seemed… content. “well, the latter ain’t wrong since I did kill Marcus and others for being dicks. most thought the same as yaself, that I got this city cuz I wanted everything. that ain’t true, I just got it cuz I had to. else this city woulda been under the control of crime lords.  it’s gotten a lot better, but it’s still dangerous out there.” Crime lord, as if he wasn’t one himself. Maybe he considers himself completely different to the others.

I blinked. “Was it really that bad?”

Sans nodded, “ya better believe it, sweetheart. for the good of the common folk, i crushed ‘em down. ya police folk wouldn’t have stood a chance. s’why i’m so harsh, i guess.” Sans sounded almost embarrassed, like he thought I would take it as an excuse. His right hand lifted to rub the back of his skull, he looked away from me, worried about my reaction.

I did remember… my mother used to live in Ebbott herself, but she told me that it was too harsh a place for anyone. The moment she had found me, she took me and herself away from the crime ridden city and lived our lives outside. Only, I returned once I grew up and became a police officer. For her. To better the city that she told me she had once loved. Yet, here, Sans was doing the same thing. Keeping the city streets clear, for the people, for his brother. He and I… were we really that different? Our approaches were entirely different, but in the end, we were both doing this for the people we loved. I felt… connected. Our goals were the same, it would only make sense that we should work together to make this city a better place. I decided. Yes. Sans would be better off left out. Hearing this story, hearing how he worked so hard and continues to do so from the criminals running rife to the possibility that Mount Ebbott one day might not save us from the perils on the other side, I knew it was the right decision.  

Determined, I put my hand on his free hand, lifting my head to look at him. He flinched, turning swiftly to face me and his face was one of shock and amazement. “For what it’s worth, thank you so much for saving this city. But, you don’t need to do this alone anymore. Let me help you. Fuck, let the police force help you! We can do it, together, we can make this city livable again. Maybe one day, we can go a day without a shooting or a fight happening in the streets in broad daylight. Or a week where someone isn’t murdered for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

His face changed, whilst it still looked rather amazed, he seemed relieved. His shoulders sagging in relief, to hear that maybe I did understand him a bit more than I had earlier. He seemed rather pleased with how I reacted. Maybe most others had been appalled in the way he had handled the gangs, I wasn’t an idiot to not know what he was implying. But, it was either that, or the citizens of Ebbott would be gunned down or controlled by criminal gangs, ones that wouldn’t nurture them or think of their well-being. Sometimes, you had to be cruel to be kind.

Sans smiled, putting his own hand over mine. “that’d sure be a help, princess . instead of having to save your arse again.” He winked.

Forget everything I said. I no longer felt sorry for this guy, or whatever connection. He was an arsehole. Scratch everything. I glared, smacking his shoulder with a growl. “I could’ve handled Marcus without you, bone head! By being civil as well, instead of this cave-man beating him u-” I was cut off by Sans suddenly leaning forward, stealing my words out of my mouth with his own. I wanted to slap him, bite him, whatever else aggressive. Instead, I was too surprised by his bold action to react fast enough. He’d somehow managed to manifest a tongue quick enough in that time to kiss, swipe inside one long lick quickly and back out again, leaving me breathless and pondering what the fuck just happened.

Sans sticks his tongue out, running it around his mouth like a dog would after eating a meal. “ya taste as good as i remember. i’d work more with ya, but i can’t help but piss ya off. you look so adorable when ya mad.”

“You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?”

“thank you.” What a dick. “now, actually hadn’t meant to… you know, get all serious. this was meant to be a good time. i’m not the best cook, but i did make some dinner. if ya give me two seconds, i can go grab it. it’s still in the oven, my brother should’ve turned off the oven when i told him to.”

“Oh, well… okay then. Sure.” Sans smiled, saying he’ll be two seconds, and he just… vanishes. Oh yeah. That whole teleporting thing. That will take getting used to.

I turned back to look at the city. Hard to believe I’d been living in it for a few weeks now, and I had no idea what it really looked like. It looked entirely different seeing it from up above, you could see how it truly was. And Sans showed it to me, where only usually the rich and fortunate could see it properly from the sky without Google Maps. Okay.

I took my phone out, texting Undyne.

_Okay, you win. I’ll give him a chance._

I swear I could almost hear Undyne squealing from the rooftop here on Dreemurr Tower. What have I gotten myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I never got to finish. The chapter was becoming too long and I'd easily have doubled the chapter length if I added the rest of the date in. SO. I guess we'll see what else happens later in the next chapter. 
> 
> Hopefully I won't take as long this time as I did last time. Sorry about that ;.; 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed! ^^ Thank you for your support, comments and kudos~ :D Have a nice day! 
> 
> ~Blackie


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date continues. Things go well. Then Sans goes back to his old ways of making Frisk's life difficult

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. So sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had a lot of stuff happening, like visiting family, moving house and having no internet for three weeks. But I'm back and hopefully things will calm down, but I can't make any promises. 
> 
> Sorry this is a shorter chapter than normal as well. It just seemed to finish at a good point. Any longer and it would've felt dragged out and sloppy. It already feels like it now, but I think I'm satisfied with this. I've got a plan for the next chapter, but I'm open to some suggestions otherwise. I'm always happy to hear what others have plans for. I'm not sure how much longer this story might be, I don't think it'll make double digit chapters, but I suppose it depends what the muse says haha
> 
> This chapter is unbeta'd. I may go over it later when I have the time. If you spot any glaring issues, drop a comment and I'll go fix it right away~ I'm a little uneasy about this chapter, but it might be because of the long break I've had. Egh. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this either way!

Chapter 6 

When Sans said he would only take a few minutes, he wasn’t kidding. He was back in no time, a picnic rug underneath his arms, a basket in his hand, a Tupperware in his other and a bottle of red under his arm.

He shrugs, his grin never leaving his face. “wasn’t sure what ya liked. figured red was a good guess. ya seemed to like fruity shit, i’m more of a cocktail man myself.”

“Cocktails?” My eyebrows raise, turning around fully to see him putting the rug and basket down. “You seem more of a beer kind of guy.” Considering his tough going attitude, a girly like drink such as a cocktail didn’t seem his kind of thing.

“bloody mary’s. what can I say?” He winks. Huh, maybe a guilty pleasure of his to enjoy Bloody Mary’s as a drink?

“It just seems a bit odd for a hardcore gangster who kills without blinking to like cocktails.” Not exactly what you expect to find when watching a Hollywood film that’s for sure.

“i like to surprise people.” He winks, grabbing something from inside the picnic basket. A ketchup bottle. What was he-?

He chugs it. Not even joking. He chugs the fucking thing like it’s a shot of whiskey or something. When he’s done, he lowers the bottle, leaving ketchup all over his teeth. He grins, smudges of ketchup that maybe in the dark you could fool yourself to think was blood if you were really paranoid, racist against monsters and had an IQ of 70. That wasn’t an unfair assumption to think that someone would do that. People have done worse for less.

“You ever get told you’re a weirdo?” I raise an eyebrow, coming to sit down in front of him cross legged.

“yup. most of mettaton’s staff, but I think he picked most of them off the streets. least he’s giving them jobs and payment.” Sans shrugs, uncovering the picnic basket to show that he made…

“Oh! You took the time to make lasagne?”

Sans shrugged again. “my bro said I must make pasta. figured lasagne was probably the least messy to travel with. he wasn’t gonna let me leave the house otherwise.”

“Does he love pasta or something?”

“yup. pasta for every meal.”

His face told me he wasn’t joking.

“Do you even have taste buds dude? How can you stand that much pasta?”

“well, tell the truth I am a bit sick of pasta… but it’s my brother, so.”

I had to smile. “You sure love your brother, don’t you?” I leaned on my crossed legs, looking to Sans with a smile on my face. “Probably a lot more than you’d ever let on to anyone else.”

Sans looked at me, right in the eye. It flashed, his left eye suddenly, but it was gone in a blink. What…? “more than my own life. I’d die for him, if that’s what it’d take. I’d kill anyone and anything for him, if he ever asked. he’s the only family I got left. the only family that ever mattered to me.”

I blinked, taking a bite out of the lasagne he had given me whilst talking. Plastic forks, he wouldn’t trust me enough to use a real knife and fork and he’d be a fool to do so. Clever. “Wow. I don’t think I care about anything like that enough… except my mother.” A small slip, I hadn’t meant to mention her, didn’t want her involved in the troubles I got into. She had escaped from those troubles before she had me, I certainly didn’t want her to be dragged back into the same trouble.

Sans notices, but he notices something a little different to what I thought I had let slip. “not your dad?”

No other pressing questions? I supposed not, being a simple cop. “Don’t have one. Never really wanted one either.”

Sans didn’t seem to know what to say for a little while. Then, he smiled slightly, looking away towards the city. “i never had a mother. least I never knew her. old man never spoke about her and I never felt like I wanted to know. so I never bothered.” I looked up. Another connection between the both of us, raised by a single parent. Only, Sans had a brother to worry about as well, I only had myself. Though, I guess I was enough of a handful, I wasn’t an easy kid and I still don’t know how mother dealt with me for all those years. Especially my teen years.

I wasn’t sure, however, if having a connection with the Judge was necessarily a good thing. Or if it was the best thing that could happen. I mean, what do you do in this situation? Regardless of how nice and well we talked to each other, it didn’t change the deep fact of I’m a cop and he’s the Judge. The worst criminal in the entire city, but his roots had ingrained so deep into the city that it was impossible to pull him out anymore. However, committing crimes because he believes you must fight fire with fire, defeat crime with crime. Who was I to tell him otherwise? It wasn’t just what I thought anymore either. It was the very fact that I felt this could end up a lose-lose to me either way in terms of my reputation. Dating a gangster criminal? Some cop I turned out to be huh, completely corrupted just like the rest of them. But if I refused, who was to say Sans wouldn’t tarnish all my hard work to be taken seriously? To finally have the chance to clean up the city for my mother? I’d never get the chance again, at least not for a very long time. Good things aren’t remembered nearly as much as the bad things you do, that was just a matter of fact.

“Didn’t know you even had a father, or any family besides your brother. There’s been no mention of him.” Call me subtle for trying to gain information.

Sans didn’t seem phased, nor bothered by my so obvious probe into his history. “eh. he’s been gone a long time. kinda forget sometimes.” I wasn’t shocked that I believed him. He seemed rather nonchalant, maybe even bored, by talking about his father. His father. The person who had a hand in bringing him into existence. Nothing to be talkative about, of course. “I remember being young when he disappeared. s’all I remember.”

“Disappeared?” Intriguing. His father didn’t pass away, or at least not peacefully. His father disappeared. And he didn’t seem at all that bothered about it. For someone who would stab a man in the chest with bloody bones and kill a man for threatening to touch a girl, this sure seemed a calm way of dealing with the fact your own father disappeared from existence. “Didn’t you bother to try to figure out how he disappeared? Or if he was kidnapped or killed?”

Sans shrugged. “my dad weren’t the sharin’ type. there ain’t any records of him existing. s’like he never did. ‘cept he left paps and I here on this planet. about all good he did.” Ah. This was a can of worms I wasn’t really up to opening just yet. Family issues, something you definitely don’t touch on a first date and something as a police officer I despise to hear, no matter who it is complaining. Honestly, majority of the problems coming up were to do with family issues in some way or another. Fun fact; 9/10 times people are murdered by a family or a friend or significant other rather than a complete stranger. So, yes, family issues bring a whole bunch of trouble for us police officers and there is very little we could do. Most would require therapy; just too bad most families don’t believe they need it and carry on creating problems for everyone else. This was a monster problem as well, despite the fact they claim to be made with love and kindness, they had their own fair share of problems. Then again, perhaps you could love another too much. The lines blurred between right and wrong, it didn’t matter if you loved someone that much. The law means nothing, in that case. Just like Sans was telling me about his brother…

Was that why he went to such lengths? Not for himself, but for his brother? For the same as I would do for my mother? For me, it was more than love, sure she was my mother, but she had done so much for me and I felt I could never repay her. The least I could do was rid her of her demons from this city she knew and loved so long ago. I was sure, with help, I could bring it back for her. Anything for her.

Heh. I guess, with that in mind, I could see Sans had a point. He was just going about it in a horrific manner. But at least now I guess I didn’t view it as a horrific a thing that he is doing, considering he is doing it for family, as well as the public a little bit on the side I suppose.

Maybe that made me a bad person, empathising with a murderer. Well, lock me up and throw away the key, I guess. If I had the exact same powers as Sans did, with a family member that depended on the city being safe and it was his only wish… I guess I couldn’t say no absolutely I would never do the same thing as he would. I’d certainly consider it.

I’d certainly be capable of it, I knew that much. Anyone is capable of it, but this is such a blurred line of things I wouldn’t even know how I’d react until I actually attempted it myself. And doing that, there’s no going back once you start. I didn’t want to try my chances.

I changed the subject, whilst eating my lasagne and I noticed Sans dunked a load of his ketchup on his lasagne. I didn’t want to judge. But I did. I didn’t say anything, but in my mind, I certainly questioned whether or not skeletons actually had taste buds or if he was just humouring me. We talked about all sorts, common criminals we both knew, how most crimes literally just make you roll your eyes and wonder how humanity or monstrosity kind had sunk so low. Migosps were the worst. Two meet and it’s a battle in hell between the both of them. Knight Knights just falling asleep in the middle of roads and causing accidents, somehow their armour is stronger than cars, go figure that out. Not, however, lorries, we discovered to our horror. So far, Knight Knights have done well to stay out of too much trouble. A single Pyrope once caused trouble because he was left in a kitchen on his own. 250C ovens were not hot enough for the food he was cooking and that building was left to the flames. He was relocated to a better place in Hawaii where he could utilize his full talents of being a rope on fire.

Not all monsters had funny slip ups, however. Some could be malicious and nasty, not all monsters were kind. Sans, of course, being an example. There was one monster, a Moldbygg that went on a rampage. Monster attacks weren’t common, most monsters knew the punishments of such things, from the Judge and the police, and didn’t cause attention to themselves. Unfortunately, out of control attacks were not a myth. Rare, but a single Moldbygg became enraged after an argument with a Moldsmal that went terribly wrong, killing the poor monster and attack any and all vehicles and human and monster alike. The police were called in and, eventually after bringing its HP down low enough, managed to subdue the Moldbygg. I remember being one of the few involved, attacked but not badly injured from the fight. We never figured out what the argument was, nobody could speak Moldbygg, but regardless the monster served time in prison for its actions. It was never known whether the monster felt guilty for what he had done, but when he was let out of prison, it didn’t seem too thankful. I remember it glaring back at myself and a colleague when he was let free, as if it was our fault he had ended up in jail, then it dug underground and was never to be seen again.

There were monster gangs, of course. Such as Sans and the people who follow him. One such was Dogamy and Dogaressa’s. They usually had only dog monsters in their gang, which was why I was surprised Sans had a Greater Dog working for him. Dogamy and Dogaressa would’ve been a smaller problem, if they didn’t become so out of control so easily. Their biggest money grabber was Dog Treats. Dog Treats were a drug very similar to cannabis, having the same effect but worked more effectively for monsters than it did humans. Possibly because Dog Treats worked on your magic and soul, rather than your body like cannabis did. Being so detached from our soul, humans just didn’t get the same effect or appeal of dog treats, a very mild effect when compared to cannabis. However, despite that, small humans would still argue their point on cannabis being better (somehow?) and fights would break. Only one gang could sell cannabis in this city (despite the fact neither sales were at all harming them; cannabis for humans and Dog Treats for monsters.) These were the same gangs that fought to be the best and to be more known in the city so there you have it.

We spoke for a while, until suddenly Sans noticed the time. “ah, sorry doll. I gotta cut this short, my ‘lil bro won’t sleep until I read him a bed time story.”

I try not to snicker. I do smile, however. “You still read bedtime stories to your little brother? How old is he?”

Sans didn’t glare, but his grin grew wider. “none o’ ya business.”

“Relax bonehead. I think it’s rather sweet. The big bad Judge reads a bedtime story to his brother. Who knew?”

“tell anyone and I swear to god.”

“Your secret is safe with me. It’s just… I guess everybody figured you were almost emotionless, incapable of caring for someone so much. But I guess we were wrong. I was wrong.” I shrug, willing to admit that I was too quick to judge. Most gangs or serial killers certainly didn’t care if they got in the way of the law, they didn’t care if they hurt anybody to get what they want, either being money or fame or satisfaction. It was rare for it to be because they cared about someone.

“here, I’ll drop ya off at ya house. was nice, ya’ll not a bad cop.” Sans smiled, holding out his hand for me to take.

I smiled as well. “And thank you for being a kind gentleman. Or skeleton. I really enjoyed your company today.”

Just like that, he had teleported me back to my house, without warning. I didn’t get as sick, kind of expecting it a bit. He kept his grin on his face. “wanna kiss goodbye? keep me wanting more?”

Of course, he hadn’t completely changed into a gentlemonster. “Of course, just a kiss. I’m not the kinda girl to do more than that on a first date.”

Sans nods, his grin never falling. He looked so smug with that grin on his face, but I reckon that was just his neutral face. With a smile, Sans leaned forward, not at all like the first time we had made out. He didn’t actually touch me, at all. Simply his face moved forward, he gave a gentle kiss to my lips. His facial structure still confused and amazed me, how he could give such a tender kiss when I didn’t see his mouth move at all ever. It was soft, like the touch of a feather against my skin, he was very tentative. Like he was afraid I’d be damaged by a simple gesture. Then he pushed back with a ‘mwah’ sound.

“Did you just-?”

“my brother said I had to. said it wasn’t a kiss if I didn’t.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed a little. “That’s so fucking adorable.”

After telling each other goodbye, walking away from each other and turning back to wave each other goodbye, I went into my house and straight to my bedroom.

To find Sapphire had made herself at home on my pillow. She wasn’t meant to sleep on the bed, I’d tried to get her out of doing it so she wouldn’t become too overprotective over me. But I felt too tired to tell her to get off, maybe one night wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I was feeling generous, one night would be fine I was sure. Thoughts swirled around my head, trying to figure Sans out. What did he possibly see in me? An everyday cop just trying to do her job, I wasn’t too much more confident than most people in the force, so it couldn’t be that. It made my head spin, in a way that was just creating more and more problems rather than solving them.

Eventually, I gave up and curled up around Sapphire. Luckily, she didn’t snore so I didn’t have that trouble with getting to sleep. Smiling, I got comfortable for a good night’s sleep.

…

I was getting too old for this, rushing after petty criminals down a busy street. Some Froggit decided to try their luck in stealing a phone and I just happened to be nearby passing by when I heard the screech of a cat-lady about a thieving amphibian running away. Of course, I couldn’t ignore it, he was obviously at fault, he couldn’t look more obvious than if he were wearing black and white striped shirts from prison. Those clothes weren’t used for the inmates when they’re sent to jail. Most actually wore blue uniforms and trousers, not the striped ones you seen in all cartoons.

I had shouted to him the moment I spotted him, and he immediately picked up the pace, hopping from street to street (the only way he could get away quickly) trying for parkour to lose my tail. I kept pace, having done enough gym sessions that I wouldn’t be out of breath so easily. I had been chasing him for a good five minutes, several streets away from the original one I’d caught him stealing the phone from. Sure, seemed a lot of effort for a stolen phone considering what other problems we had, but letting one criminal slip meant he thought he would be able to get away with it. Not when I was on his tail, he wouldn’t! I’d saved my breath, hadn’t bothered shouting since the Froggit clearly wasn’t armed, not even the smallest gun would fit in his pocket with a phone too and Froggits didn’t really have the appendages needed to use one. If he attacked, well that would be a big mistake on his part. I was human with a stronger soul and could subdue him a lot easier than he could me.

Just as I was feeling like he’d run out of breath soon, suddenly out of nowhere he was pinned to the wall of a quiet street we’d been running down. I slowed, feet aching from all the running and the sudden stop I needed to make without falling over. What in the world…?  A quick glance told me- oh, it was Sans.  It had been three days since the date and I hadn’t heard from him since, I assumed he was as busy as I was. There was no rest for the wicked. Yet, here he was, teleporting in and dealing with my criminal like it’s any of his business.

But I couldn’t say anything for a good ten minutes, trying to get my breath back as Sans had the monster pinned to the wall.

“this monster bothering ya, darlin’?” He turned to look at me, giving me a huge grin like he was my hero or something. Like I needed saving from a bloody Froggit of all things.

“This monster sure is.” I finally spoke when I had my breath back, poking Sans on his skull where his forehead would be. Sans did blink in surprise, though he didn’t drop the criminal monster either. Somehow, despite the Froggit squirming and ribbitting in his grip, he didn’t even glance at the thing panicking. “Thanks, that’s my criminal I could’ve caught _without_ your help.”

Sans tilted his head, keeping the Froggit to the wall. “dunno what you mean. I just caught him down my neck of the woods, trespassing where he ain’t wanted.” Sans grinned as he turned to look at the Froggit, who suddenly seemed much more terrified than before. “dont’cha remember what tony told ya at grillby’s? don’t fucking bother coming back down this street, don’t want ya petty kind bringing the boys in blue here.”

Boys in blue. So Sans had something worth hiding in a place called Grillby’s? Or a person’s house belonging to a monster named Grillby? Interesting… I took note to remember the name of the place/person.

“Regardless, I found him stealing a mobile phone off a poor cat monster, probably cost her a lot of money and I’m just here to bring it back and bring the frog in. I can manage that much without help.” I crossed my arms, looking down on Sans. He didn’t seem the least bit ashamed.

“ah is fine darlin’, I got this. here.” He turns and rummages through the poor Froggit’s pockets, ignoring its protests and hands me a mobile phone. The stolen one. “there’s the phone ya can give back to the feline, I got this criminal covered.”

I face palm, sliding my hand down my face as I feel a migraine coming on. I was too old for this. I did take the mobile phone, putting it in my pocket so I didn’t forget about it. “Protocol for the police is you bring the criminal in for questioning, to jail and a court will be held if the victim pursues it. No matter how small the matter may be, the criminal still deserves a fair trial. Wouldn’t you agree, Sans?”

“eh, dunno much about courts and such, lady. I let my lawyers deal with that, too complicated for a lazy bones such as myself.” He shrugs, his eyes closed completely and utterly relaxed. He wasn’t bothered by my arguing, if anything it seemed almost like a rehearsal, something he had done so many times before. “just doing my job, and making yours easier. ain’t that fair for the both of us?”

“Just gimme the bloody criminal, Sans.”

“hey, if ya ask nicely I might be swayed.” He opens his eyes, giving me a wink and a bigger grin.

“Sure. Please, Sans, gimme the criminal so I can be done, send him off and go home.” I caught the Froggitt nodding quickly, like he knew just from this conversation alone that he stood a better chance in jail under my care instead of… a basement maybe with Sans’ goonies, who knew if he even survived. Whilst I was powerless to stop Sans if he tried anything, I could at least convince him of his wrongs. But he’d been doing this for years, habits like this would be a hard one to break I imagine.

“well, since ya asked so nicely…” He gives one last wink and… I blink and he’s gone. With the Froggitt. What. Just like that, soundlessly, without even breaking the air at all or any sign that he had gone, he just vanished into thin air. Like I’d imagined the whole encounter from the beginning. I looked behind me, to the side, inside the industrial bin not too far away and nothing. No evidence that they had been there at all apart from my memory. And I was sure I was not hallucinating, that was a pretty vivid one if I did imagine the whole thing. Nobody seemed to stop me, and surely I couldn’t have imagined there was no Froggitt. The stolen phone was in my pocket still, so no. I was sure of it, I didn’t imagine it.

I sigh, turn around- sonuva bitch!

“What how in the bollocks did you-!?”

Sans laughs. He laughs hard, doubling over and wiping an imaginary tear from his eyesocket. I crossed my arms, not a huge fan of being the butt of a joke and glared at him. He doesn’t calm down, if anything he gets even worse. This is ridiculous. I so badly wanted to lash out at him, but realised that A, that was a terrible idea and it’d probably hurt me more than it’d hurt him and B, I didn’t think he’d appreciate it very much.

So, instead, I went the route of very disappointed teacher. That seemed about the best way I could describe it. “So, where’s my criminal then, Serif?”

It took him another moment to calm down, but slowly he stopped at least laughing. “heh, he’s in one of ya cells. nice and cosy next to the French chef, the one that’s good at cooking frog’s legs. I bet they’d get on swell.”

The look on my face when he said that made him laugh again. He was in a funny mood, wasn’t he? It took me a good minute to realise; “But we don’t have a French guy in the clink.”

Sans looked away with a grin still on his face. “heh, wow who woulda thought. the criminal lied to me.”

“Please don’t tell me you put him in the same cell as Pervy Pete.”

“whoa is that guy really called that?”

Sigh. “No, obviously not. That’s just his name in the nick.”

Sans grins. “wow so that’s true huh? never been to jail so I wouldn’t know. heard ya do it, first time hearing it. that’s pretty dope. so why’s he called that?”

“He keeps trying to sexually assault girls who have big boyfriends and he keeps getting beat up and we get called to pick up his remains.” But to the point! “Are you serious that you sent the Froggitt right into a cell?”

“yup.”

“Dude! Did you even read him his rights? Did you check his previous criminal record? He could’ve been a terrorist for all we knew!” I mean, I knew he wasn’t but that was beside the point. Sans had no idea.

“it’s fine, I told the prison guard he was in there and needed all that paperwork, I just couldn’t be bothered having to sit through the lecture later and just walked off. they had no idea where I’d gone.” He smiles, as if proud of this very fact. Rather than, you know, freaking out everyone in the jail.

“I thought you mentioned not abusing this power?” I raised an eyebrow.

Sans looked away. Guilty. “whaaaat. I don’t remember that. I don’t let officials know of it because they abuse it but I never said I didn’t. that sounds like a stupid thing for me to say.”

I was about to argue my point more, when my walkie talkie sprung to life. “ _Fanshaw, it’s office, come in_.”

Keeping a close eye on Sans, I lifted my walkie talkie and answered; “Officer Frisk reporting, what’s the problem?”

“ _We’ve had a report that there has been a scene at the prison in your area. A skeletal monster was seen behind prison bars despite having no conviction made against him. You are needed to report to the prison effective immediately.”_

They were fast, those prison guards. I guess when they realise they need help, they call for help as soon as they can. Less work for them, I suppose. Sans is grinning, seemingly pleased with himself. “Of course, I’ll be over there right away, Frisk out.” I put the walkie talkie back on my belt and gave a heavy sigh. “Why do you make my job harder?”

“I didn’t? not my fault your prison guards are all wusses and incompetent.”

“Rules are rules, Sansy. Guess that’s something you just make up as you go along huh?” His answering smirk to the question told me everything. “I guess thanks for catching the criminal, but also making more work for me.”

Sans gave me a wink. “anytime for ya, sweet cheeks.” Then he just vanishes. Because that’s what he does, of course. That’s Sans for you.

Getting to the prison was just a chore. The cat monster was very grateful for getting her phone back and promised to get me a cuppa one day at Costa. I told her it was just part of my job and I was happy to help. Regardless, the sentiment was always lovely to hear, to know that your job was actually making a difference. This made the task of wanting to go to the prison all the more harder, just to hear the same prisoners calling you a pig, whore, take your pick over and over. It’s like they all had a one-track mind, not caring that they made themselves seem worse and more guilty the more they do it. Not that most even tried to appear less guilty, judges had no idea what happened behind bars. Getting let off for good behaviour would happen regardless, unless he reoffended or fought other inmates. That was pretty much it. What a joke, right?

The guy in charge, Robert Gilbert, explained basically everything that Sans had already told me. He turned up around the corner out of the blue, told them he caught this Froggitt for me and was saving me the hassle of having to do it myself. He then explained what the Froggitt had done, why I had chased him, what they needed to do, then just said good luck, turned the corner and left. Then vanished as soon as he was around the corner, in front of all the convicts. Of course they freaked out, they expected the worst in everyone and seeing a dude pop in and out of existence without any effort needed. It took them a long time to calm the inmates in and reassure them of the security cameras. They were never truly out of our sight, not long enough for us to not notice any suspicious activity anyway.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what Sans told me. He failed to mention he freaked the inmates out, but I could guess that from his smirk afterwards.” I explained to Robert, making notes down of what Sans and Robert told me. They pretty much matched, I wasn’t sure how to explain to the guv later this incident. Good luck arresting Sans for breaking in, he just appeared there. Trespass maybe? Good luck catching him. “He’s doing this to mess with me, I think. I’m sorry I got you and your boys caught up in this mess.”

Robert seemed shocked, blinking a few times. He didn’t seem to know how to react for a little while. I hadn’t noticed he had trouble processing what he just said, thinking maybe he just wasn’t answering until I lifted my head from writing. His face was flabbergasted. Like I told him something truly disturbing. “Um, are you okay?”

“Wha?” Another minute, before he spluttered. “Of course, yes! I mean. Sans. You mean… that guy that teleported, right?” I nodded my head slowly, confused as to why he was acting this way. “You’re… you’re annoyed at him?”

“Well, this has caused me a lot of bother I’d rather do without, yes. I said as much to him.”

“You what!?” I was surprised. Robert Gilbert seemed like he was about to go into shock, shaking and sweating and backing away from me slowly.

“Um… do you need me to call someone?”

“No no! I just… you insulted him!?”

That’s not… “No. I told him he gave me more work, which he did. Honestly, he just seems to be making my job a little more difficult under the vein that he is helping because it’s funny. That’s just the way he is. I apologise for getting you mixed up in this. I’ll have this sent to the office now and get this cleared up.”

He didn’t seem to have much of a reaction when I told him that. He still seemed like a fish out of water, mouth opening and closing much like a fish out of water.

It wasn’t until much later that I realised what I had done wrong. Because I forgot, Sans wasn’t just an ordinary gangster, even if the majority of the normal people believed so. Sans, especially known to the fuzz, was a notorious killer with a very short patience span. He was the Judge. If you didn’t find the Judge something to be afraid of, then people were bound to be afraid of you too.

And that was exactly what happened soon afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, this is not an accurate representation of British Prisons. I've got no idea how they work, I got my info from watching cop documentaries and films.
> 
> I'm terrible at writing dates. Lesson learnt. But dates are terrible anyway, so I think I got it covered. 
> 
> I haven't got too much else to say honestly. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and it's good to be back to writing again. It's great to have internet again. I missed it. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a police officer meant you had to deal with difficult challenges on occasion. This time, a hostage situation has taken place. A gang of Migosps have taken a Gyftrot hostage and Frisk appears to try to ease the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter this time, but it felt good to stop here. 
> 
> I got this done just before I'm off away from my laptop for a few days! I'm heading away for work and working away from home for a week, so I'll be losing that time for writing. I wanted to get this done before I left, so I didn't keep you waiting unnecessarily! Phew!
> 
> I'll tidy it up if there's mistakes when I get back, promise! Let me know if you find any~ Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 7

It didn’t get out of control until a hostage situation took hold. For days, certain officers looked at me strangely, like they were wary of what I was going to do or say. I had no idea why, I don’t remember freaking out or shouting at anybody in particular and I hadn’t exactly been in the area for too long either. So, what caused this sudden change in behaviour? Criminals didn’t act any differently towards me, they were the same sexist monsters and humans as ever. Same thing, day after day.

The hostage situation was when things really got out of control. DCI Gregory Lanshaw was on the scene as well, his officers spread around the office block where a monster was being held hostage by a gang of Migosps. If only the situation could get worse. It was hopeless, Migosps when in groups hardly ever listened to reason and we couldn’t go in guns blazing until the arms response unit arrived. Then _they_ could send a sniper up to try to surprise and rush in whilst they are surprised. We just did the ground work of trying to reason with the hostage takers in any way we could. Not that we could promise anything, but sometimes talking worked. A lot of times, hostage situations are caused by desperation, talking to another and understanding their situation usually calmed them down enough to realise what they are doing. Not always, but sometimes. When it comes to Migosps, however… we were pretty much running dry.

“We have this building surrounded!” DCI Greg was trying his best, regardless. He had to at least try, even when we knew it was a fruitless task. “We are here to listen, you don’t have to harm anyone and nobody needs to get hurt.”

Of course, the only response he got was a chair getting thrown out of the window. “Well, they _are_ Migosps. Everyone knows you don’t stand much of a chance when Migosps are in groups.” An officer on the side remarked, a lioness monster. She stood on her hind legs, paws for hands and feet and antlers coming out of her head. Her tail swished around behind her. I wasn’t aware of her name, but I had seen her working in the more monster populated area before.

“We still have to follow protocol regardless of the situation.” Greg told her. We knew that, but all of us felt the same. This was a fruitless effort, but rules were rules.

I joined quickly, one of the later ones on the scene. “What’s the situation?”

Greg turned to me, relief in his eyes. Essentially, I worked as his second in command. Essentially, I was only a step lower than him, but I had similar experience as him. “We’ve got a horde of Migosps holding a monster hostage in the building. The monster seems to be a Gyftrot. We’re not sure how it escalated.” By the monster, at least I had an idea of what I was working with. Not a bipedal monster, which meant we had to be a bit more creative and careful. He wouldn’t be able to shield himself with his arms, he stood on four legs and didn’t have hands. Gyftrot from what I could remember were almost like reindeer, they had antlers, but they had pincers for a mouth instead of a regular herbivore mouth. Their eyes seemed almost bug like as well, though the rest of the monster seemed like a deer. It was a monster tradition for Gyftrot to be decorated in Christmas lights, whether that was actually a monster thing or a prank I could never tell, as Gyftrot were never pleasant company. They weren’t aggressive, they were just… pretty angry at everything. About every little thing. Not enough to be held hostage, however.

“They talking to us? Do we know if the Gyftrot is unharmed?” I questioned, taking a gander at the megaphone Greg was holding. Perhaps if they heard a female voice…?

“We’re not sure, they’re not listening to us at all. I told them they were surrounded and we would listen to what they had to say but they don’t want to know.” He sighed.

“Well, of course they won’t! Not when you tell them that. Let me try, see if I can get a word in at all.” I held my hand out for the megaphone.

Greg rolled his eyes, mumbled something I didn’t care to hear but he handed me the megaphone regardless. Giving it a wipe, not because I believed he spat in it but out of some instinct I couldn’t begin to explain, I began. “Migosps, this is Detective Inspector Frisk Fanshaw. I’ve heard you’ve got a Gyftrot up there with you. Can you tell me why?” Safe and gentle was the best approach. Although, I didn’t handle hostage situations very often, not a perilous one such as this. The Migosps were armed, with knifes and one was said to have a pistol, so I was told quietly by Greg. This was why we couldn’t just storm in.

I spotted movement in one of the windows high up on the top floor, the office building had been evacuated as soon as gunshots were heard and the only hostages that were known was the Gyftrot. I could see from the 10th floor a Migosp antenna flickering by the window. I couldn’t see if he could look over the window and spot me down on the pavement, but my name sure did get his attention. Or perhaps my voice? The Migosp didn’t seem to reply, just watching me from the top floor. If he was talking to his fellow group members, I couldn’t hear him.

“I’m here to talk to you, we can talk about it. Nobody needs to get hurt.” I seemed to be getting through to him. At least, it felt like it. A small head poked from the window, surveying the ground below. He seemed put out, from what I could see of his tiny speck, of all the officers down on the ground.

“HE’S AGAINST THE HIVE!” Is what I heard. I’m not entirely sure if that was what he said, being ten floors above and he was shouting without a megaphone.

“The hive? What’s the hive?” I ask honestly. It would do no good to mock their idea of a ‘hive’, despite what I thought.

“OUR GANG. OUR HOME. HE MOCKS US!” He screeched. He was clear as day now, his anger having reached a certain boiling point.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right though, do they?” Strangely, most criminals didn’t seem to realise what they were doing when they reached this state. Or, they did, but because they had passed the point of no return, they were scared of what would happen and continue down the deep end in the hopes of fixing it. “He’s probably very scared now, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation about all of this. Have you asked him?” By them giving no reply, I had to assume they had not. They were talking to each other from the looks of it, the tiny body turned away and looking into the room.

The Migosp turned back and screeched. “HE HATES US. HE SAID IT! HE TOLD US HIMSELF!”

“Right now?” I didn’t get any reply to that, so I continued. “He’s really scared right now; wouldn’t you say you hated someone if they held you hostage too?” More silence. The Migosp hid his head under the window, but his antenna gave away the fact he was still right by the window. “Why don’t we talk about it? You can let the Gyftrot go on his way and we can talk about it.”

There was no reply, not for a long while. Then, the worst thing, the window closed. Shit. I lowered the megaphone, a complete failure.

“Well, you did better than the guv. He got a chair thrown at him.” Doggo remarked, whom I hadn’t noticed was on the scene. He’d been quiet on the side the whole time, along with the lioness cop.

I smiled, at least he tried. “I get away injury free and insult free, but unless we got a phone number for that room, we’re not communicating with them anymore.”

“We’ve got one, but they’ve never answered. We got Adam ringing it on the off chance they answer, but there’s no such luck.” Doggo scratched behind his ear, just like a dog would.

Greg leaned against his cop car, watching the window with scrutiny. “You’ve calmed them down a little at least. He wasn’t throwing office chairs out the window anymore.” He checks his watch. “Firearms response team are ETA half an hour. If we can just keep them preoccupied for-”

Greg was cut off when the window of the office was opened up again. “OFFICER. YOU CAN HAVE GYFTROT IF YOU COME AND GET HIM.” He shouted down. “ONLY YOU, GIRL COP.” Then he shut the window again.

“No, absolutely not, Frisk!” Greg told me immediately before I could even turn to look at him. He knew I would’ve gone. He knew I wanted to go right now, if there was a chance to get Gyftrot out without any issues. “It’s one thing getting a monster out of there, it’s entirely another getting a cop out!”

“Guv, look. It’s easier! It’s much better, I know what I’m doing. I know how to handle them, I can calm them down. I’m somewhat experienced with monsters, I think I can get through to them. I’ve managed this much!” I had to get through to _him_ was the issue here. I was confident, even if I wasn’t, the firearms response are on their way. I wouldn’t be stuck hostage for too long, if things went to plan. “Please, Guv, it’s the least messy way of getting Gyftrot out of this mess, and you know it. I’ll be careful, honest!”

Greg didn’t look happy in the least. Doggo was looking back and forth, unsure on who to support. Either one seemed like a bad choice. Greg finally sighed, “fine. But you’re taking a gun with you.” he holds out a pistol, one small enough to hide on my belt.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, I think that’ll make things worse if they ever catch sight of it.”

“Don’t argue, take it, hide it well.” Greg wouldn’t take no for an answer and handed me the small pistol. I doubt I’d ever want to go for it, considering the situation. “Remember, the Firearms squad are on their way and should be here within the hour. Good luck.” He put a hand on my shoulder, though it almost seemed like he wanted to hug me. He refrained, nodding instead as his hand slid off my shoulder. That was his support, and his tip for handling this. I nodded back. I turned away, taking a deep breath as I looked to the window where I knew the Migosps were. The top floor. Just had to be. With my head held high, I walked towards the building, heading towards what might’ve been the stupidest thing I had ever agreed to do. But what other choice did I have? I was way more equipped to dealing with being kidnapped, if anyone had to be. Who knows, maybe they were sincere. Maybe they would let him go if I turned up. Perhaps we were wrong, they’d come quietly. Maybe they’d lost their steam, their little hive mind whatever it was all run out. We still had no clue what it was that caused them to go crazy.

I mean, it could happen, right? We can dream big.

The whole building was silent. It was rather unsettling, knowing that myself and the Migosps and their hostage were the only ones in this building. It felt… very off putting was a good word for it. All the doors were open, fire exit doors wide open as they had been escorted to any exit they could take to get out of the building when the Migosps had started shooting and making loud noises and their demands known. Their rage, basically. I didn’t take the stairs, fearing that the stairs would take too long and I’d probably be exhausted halfway up the stairs. Instead, I took the lift. It was already on the bottom floor, and thankfully working despite the fire doors having been opened. The ride up the lift I was left feeling nervous and jittery. I had to wonder what state the Gyftrot would be in when I got there and how they would react. I’d wonder if they knew I had a pistol on me and how they’d react to that. I hadn’t wanted to take it, but Guv’s orders. I just had to not grab it when frightened, but when I had to.

The lift doors opened to an empty corridor. It only hit me now that I didn’t know where the room they were in was. I stepped out of the lift quickly, listening carefully to see if I could tell where they were. I could faintly hear talking, they weren’t speaking loudly enough that I could hear what they were saying, but considering the building had been evacuated I could make a good guess that this was the way to go. I went slowly, trying to give myself as much time as I could to be mentally prepared. To tell the truth, I was terrified. I was shaking, as much as I was trying to hide it, I knew full well how this could end. It probably wouldn’t end well, but the Gyftrot would at least be spared, at the very least.

When I got close to the door, I took a deep breath. It didn’t look any different to the other doors. It was wooden with a window in, but patterned and shaped so you couldn’t see who was on the other side. I’m not sure how I was able to walk up to the door and knock on it like I was heading into a meeting. Not when my very life was on the line here, but somehow, I did. When I knocked on the door, it felt louder than any other knock I had ever done. My heart was pounding louder than any drum I’d heard, I almost felt like I shook with every single pump my heart gave.

It was so loud in my ears that I hadn’t noticed the footsteps coming to the door. I hadn’t realised, until the door swung open and there was a barrel of a pistol gun pointed directly at my face. My hands instantly went up in surrender. This wasn’t like with Marcus and Tyrone, those guys could barely handle a gun, they spouted cockiness but their shaking hand told me enough, that they had no idea how to use a gun. This monster? Oh, this monster knew how to use a gun. He wasn’t afraid to use it, the glare in his eye told me that, his steady hand and sure way he was holding a gun told me he’d practised. He was already in a deep end, if things went ugly, it wouldn’t be much of a loss to have an officer underground.

A smirk grew across the Migosp’s face. He knew well enough to shout back instead of turning on his back. “SHE’S HERE! SHE’S HERE!” Being so close to the monster, it shook me to hear a slight buzz in his voice, a little like an insect. It creeped me out, caused a shiver to run up my spine. The other Migosps in the room, five others it seemed, so six in total, turned to look at me. The Gyftrot was sat in the middle of them, all of them surrounding him, each Migosps with either a bat, or hammer, or some mundane weapon that could do some serious damage. And yet, there wasn’t any damage done to the Gyftrot. They had instead thrown Christmas decorations onto the monster, there were fairy lights hung on his antlers, a paper snowflake hanging from his nose and a stocking hanging from his tail. It… well, I can safely say it wasn’t what I was expecting. I had assumed the Gryftrot to be suffering, though his eyes did portray that he hated every single minute of this. Like this was a form of torture.

“HEHE! COME TO SAVE THE POOR PATHETIC MONSTER?” Looking to Gyftrot, I certainly did regret my decision. I got a gun in the face pointed at me and threat of being shot, and he became a Christmas decoration. How did that work?

“It is my job, after all. Now, our deal? You going to let Gyftrot go?” With some false sense of courage I had somewhere in my body, I had managed to spit out my demands. The Migosps seem to groan in an exaggerated manner, as if I were their parent that told them to let their toys go. It felt pretty fucked up, I’ll give it that. They began screeching and yelling at the Gyftrot, trying to get rid of the monster. They were shouting at the poor monster as if he were a real feral monster, with no concept of English. The Gyftrot seemed only too happy to get out, ignoring the cries and shouts and just running for his life. I didn’t blame him, but…

“DUMB HUMAN. WASTING YOUR LIFE FOR THAT?” The Migosp leader, so it seemed, he had another gun on him on his hip, but a baseball bat as well. He seemed the most loudly spoken of the lot too. The Migosp behind me slammed the door shut, I couldn’t help but flinch at least the smallest bit at how loud the door was. He then pushed me forward, his gun jamming right into my back, I didn’t dare lower my hands, just in case. I was lead forward into the room. The office was a complete mess, tables had been thrown about, papers flown everywhere and any chairs that were here had been broken and smashed to bits. The Migosps really had done a number on this office. Even the computer hadn’t survived, smashed to bits by their violent rampage.

I was forced onto my knees on the floor by the Migosps, being nudged by their weapons. I tried my hardest, trying to remain calm, but I could feel the palm of my hands sweating, my body shaking ever so slightly in a natural reaction to fear. It wasn’t something I could stop entirely, but I tried. It felt like, they could smell my fear if I made it obvious and they’d be sure to exploit it. I was forced then to put my hands on the back of my head, a pure surrender technique we got some prisoners to perform should they become extremely difficult. Only, I wasn’t sure the barrel of the gun pointed at me wouldn’t shoot at any time. If he got too bored, who was to stop him pulling the trigger?

“THIS IS HER? THE ONE WHO STOOD UP TO THE JUDGE?” I blinked hard. They… they knew? They recognised me so easily, knew I’d been talking to Sans? At least, that at some point I had stood up to Sans rather than follow him like a blind sheep. “SHE’S SO SMALL. MAKE HER FIGHT OR SOMETHING.”

I felt a nudge on the back of my hands, on the back of my head. I tried my best not to let out a noise, even if it were entirely justified. I… had no idea what to do. What was really the best cause of action in a situation like this? Stuck between a bunch of terrifying Migosps that had no problem beating me to a pulp if they got bored.

I did my best. “That’s why you wanted me? Because I’ve spoken to the J-judge?” I couldn’t help the stammer at the end. I managed to keep it phrased like a question, rather than a statement and rather than agitate the Migosps.

“HEARD THERE WAS A POLICE OFFICER WHO THINKS THEY CAN STOP THE JUDGE.” The main Migosp spoke. He went down low, so that I could see his face whilst I was on my knees. His hand went for his gun and he began waving it about like it was a toy. “HAD TO SEE FOR MYSELF, WHO WAS THE OFFICER? NOBODY, NOT EVEN THE HIVE, GOES AGAINST JUDGE.”

I felt the gun behind me push harder, slipping between my fingers and touching the back of my skull. The boss in front pointed his gun at my forehead in turn. I couldn’t stop my body from shaking, my hands were so sweaty that I was afraid of them falling off my head. My arms were exhausted, but I was too terrified to put them down, or even try. I felt my breath coming out in pants, rather than natural breathing. I hadn’t been this terrified since… it’s been a while. Not even Sans had gotten me this terrified back when he held me hostage, he played and toyed with me, his charisma giving a false sense of safety. These Migosps were completely and utterly out of control and got off on the fear I was radiating. They wanted me to be terrified, and they were succeeding at it.

“ANYONE WHO GOES AGAINST THE JUDGE AND DOESN’T DIE IS A DANGEROUS ENEMY.” Shitshitshit. Of course, Frisk, you idiot! Judge was seen as King, he was the top dog in the city. If you saw yourself as better than the top dog and came out alive after going against what he wished, you were a dangerous person yourself. There was always a reason you were kept alive, either the Judge liked you, or you were a danger to the Judge. Anyone the Judge feared or left alive was deemed dangerous and one to be feared itself. I lived in a dog eat dog world, if the big dog left you alive after you went against him, you were a big dog too. The little dogs get worried about new big dogs, one was enough. I was a loose cannon, I wasn’t known, I was an anomaly. A dangerous one, standing up to the Judge.

“FAKE COP TRYING TO RULE THE PLACE WITH JUDGE! WE CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN!” Another Migosp on the side cried out. Here I was, sat down kneeling with two guns pointed at my head and these guys feared me. Me!? When I had done absolutely nothing to them, but spoken to them, and talked them out of releasing Gyftrot. But, no, this had been the plan all along, hadn’t it? This kidnapping was a lure, a lure to get me out of hiding, knowing I’d react. Frisk, you’re a fucking idiot. You’re getting yourself killed!

“I SAY WE BEAT HER TO A PULP. FINISH HER OFF WITH A FEW BULLETS IN HER HEAD. THAT’LL TEACH HER TO MESS WITH EBBOTT!” I couldn’t stop the whine of terror, and heartbreak leave my mouth. How did it get to this point? A normal, police officer trying to do her job for the good of this city. Suddenly being roped into a HIVE gang of Migosps and being held at gunpoint. There… really wasn’t a way out of this. Safe for begging for my life, it didn’t seem like the Migosps were that bothered. It didn’t matter if they went to prison, got life for it. They were ridding another person trying to take over a city as far as they were concerned.

“WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER JUDGE. ONE IS BAD ENOUGH. AND WE DON’T NEED A REPLACEMENT. SHOOT HER IN THE HEAD!” Such insults, such talk became white noise. As the sudden realisation hit be, hearing their aggressive screeches and hearing the click of the gun being ready to fire hit my ears. This was it. This was how it was ending. This is how my life was going to come to an end. I’d played with fire too much, fallen into an obvious trap, now I was going to pay the price.

“ANY LAST WORDS, HUMAN?” The lead Migosp at least had the courtesy to ask. My last words, if I had spoken them right away, probably would’ve been begging for my life and asking for another chance at redemption. To explain to them what a huge mistake this all was, they had it all wrong! But what could I say? No, instead I’m dating him, which was probably a lot worse in their mind. Dating the Judge, dating with death itself. Belonging to the Judge in no way that the city or anyone else was. I was something new and dangerous, and they wanted it gone right away. Admitting I was dating him was probably another ticket straight to hell.

Instead, I could only shake my head, tears beginning to pool in my eyes. I didn’t move my hands to stop them, I simply left them to fall. Oh, I’m so sorry mother. I’d tried, so hard to get the city back to a safe state that you remember so fondly. Before you had to escape this crime infested city, I remember you telling me how much you adored going to the park and seeing the flowers. You lived a lonely life, at least until you had me. You devoted your entire time to me then, whatever time you could to make me happy. Even if it meant leaving the place you remember cherishing so much, because your child would never survive with a pure heart in a world such as Ebbott City. I tried, and you won’t even know how it was I came to die, for what reason my life was ended so cruelly, for something I didn’t feel was my fault.

Sorry mother. I’d hoped to speak to you again. I’d hoped… so much.

I’d sat there, ready to accept my fate, knowing that there was no way out of this, that I couldn’t stall them for longer, knowing that gun on my belt was utterly useless as I’d never reach it before he shot at me. I couldn’t move, paralysed with fear, and I couldn’t stop a sob leaving my shaking body. It didn’t matter, I was human at the end of the day and not ready to meet with death. But I knew, there was nothing else I could do.

I’d only hoped it would end quickly.

Just as I was accepting my fate, as I felt the guns push against my head hard, a click of a gun ready to fire at any given twitch. There was screaming and screeching. Not from me, not from my mouth, as I closed my eyes tightly not ready to stare death in the face. I had to open them, a sob of confusion leaving my mouth. I didn’t dare move, other than to see what had happened. The Migosp in front of me was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished. What? There was the smell of ozone in the air, a tingling feeling in the atmosphere and the hairs on my arms rose in terror. Something was wrong.

I risked turning my head, only to shout in fear and startle back. The Migosps… they… against the wall, right at the back, pillars of dust coated the wall. Outlines of where their body had been pasted against the wall, like an explosion had gone off and they had been caught in the blast, their bodies imprinted exactly where they had then exploded into dust. Five of them. The leader behind me was nowhere to be seen. There were black singes where the clear explosion I don’t remember feeling or hearing on every surface, on the tables, chairs, the computers. Some had been obliterated, almost like they had been dissolved by _something._ I didn’t know what. But there was a strong tingle of magic in the air. This wasn’t the Firearms Disposal’s doing. They didn’t have magic this powerful and there was no way they could’ve done it without myself being a prime target. How did this…?

“hey, you’re okay, darlin’.” I almost screeched, hearing a voice suddenly behind me. My mind was moving a hundred miles an hour, not stopping, panicking. My breath was coming in fast, I felt like I was almost hyperventilating. But, there he was, behind me. In his usual blue parka, his trainers and lazy shorts, looking no worse for wear. Sans, The Judge, was standing right there, his hands outstretched as if to ask to hug me. “it’s alright, I got you, you’re safe.”

I didn’t want to move. I couldn’t move. I could only curl up, hug my knees to my body and begin to sob. I didn’t move, though I flinched a bit, as Sans approached me. He came to my side, sitting down and hugged me to him. I didn’t protest. I was in too much of a sorry state to begin to protest. It didn’t matter, my mind and body were in such a horrible mess that I didn’t want to react. I had been so ready, moments from dying. Only to suddenly find that I was not. That I had been… what, rescued? Had I? What of the Migosps? Were they… gone forever?

I couldn’t think about it. I was left sobbing on the floor, listening to Sans hush and rock me back and forth. He began humming a tune, a tune I didn’t recognise. Yet it was so… tender. He had clearly sung this before, for another person and not just for myself. His brother, perhaps? It was the only other person I could think of that he cherished enough. Why I was worthy of hearing this particular song, or why I was even rescued was beyond my comprehension.

When I finally calmed down enough, I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my uniform, shaking my head to try to get a better sense over myself. “hey, you with me?” I nodded, but I didn’t want to speak yet. I was afraid of what he’d think, if I dare spoke. “sheesh, you scared me. when I saw ya hunkered down and you didn’t fight the migosps off i…” He swallowed. Now that I concentrated better, I could feel him shaking. He was… worried for me? “it’s my fault you got in this… I heard them. If ya weren’t talking to me, you’d have never…”

He was blaming himself for this? He was correct, if I hadn’t been talking to him, if I hadn’t stood up to him, then I never would have been lured out like a rat to a trap. However regardless, a police woman’s life was fraught with danger, it had become something to expect. Perhaps something like this could’ve happened somehow else anyway, I would’ve handled it in a similar manner. “It’s… it’s okay. It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask them to kidnap me, or threaten to kill me like that.” I spoke quietly. My voice was still shaking and I didn’t think I was going to recover from this anytime soon. I hadn’t been injured, but heck, I had just faced death in the face. And survived. “How did you know…?”

Sans right eye flickered, a slight blue. I remember seeing it do that before, though I had no idea what it meant. “call it a hunch. a calling. or something.” He replied. It was the best answer I thought I was going to get.

“Are they…?”

“don’t ask. It’s better you don’t know.” That was that. “they’ll probably ask you about it, but just tell them to truth and you’ll be fine. c’mon, I’ll help get you to the hospital.”

I shook my head. “No, just… home will be fine. I’m not hurt, I’m just… spacey.” That was the best word for it. My legs didn’t feel stable whatsoever. I was going to have fun explaining everything to the boss.

Sans sighed, almost disappointed, but he didn’t argue. “okay, I’ll get you home, teleporting. I’ll leave a message for lanshaw, tell him not to bug ya for a few days.”

Sans helped me to my feet, holding onto my arm and supporting my weight until my legs could steady underneath me. I guess I don’t react too well to a couple of guns on my head. Fancy that. It took a good few attempts, but I got the hang of walking again. I couldn’t leave his side, though. Walking all the way back to the lift seemed like too daunting a task right now, when I’d almost died. He didn’t complain, still hushing every so often and patting my back, letting me know he was there and supporting me the best he could. He didn’t move suddenly, made no sudden startles and he told me what he was doing every time before he did it. He knew how to look after a startled person, a quality I hadn’t expected out of the Judge. A strangely calming and loving part of him.

When we stood in the lift, Sans explained that getting me to walk would make the teleportation a bit easier. If he teleported with me now, there was a very likely chance of me falling unconscious. It sounded like a good idea, I didn’t fancy falling unconscious in my house on the floor. Scare Sapphire half to death, she’d been through enough.

When we were on the ground floor, he helped me out of the lift. He asked if I was ready to teleport. I could only nod in response, my energy now done and I was too tired to even speak. We must’ve teleported at some point, although I didn’t remember actually doing it, as I found myself lying in bed and Sans pulling the covers over me.

“hey, sapphire, c’mon your owner needs a rest.” I heard him complain, shooing the barking dog away. Anything else, I ceased to hear or remember as I zoned out into an exhausted sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired. Don't have a lot to say other than I'm tired. Wrote most of this today, a good 3k words of it. 
> 
> *faint*
> 
> ~Blackie


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk wakes up to find that Sans remained at her house. They hang for a bit, until someone knocks on the door and Frisk finds an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lame summary is lame, but this chapter is so late coming I don't care. Sorry people! Delays are abound when it comes to Christmas time since I work retail! It comes with the territory :P 
> 
> Not a lot to say this time. More at the end notes. Just enjoy the story, eh folks? ^^ 
> 
> Got most of this done today after work thanks to Sonic Mania Soundtrack. You're the best~

Chapter 8 

Sans was still in my house when I woke up. He had fallen asleep on my settee, lying on his front still wearing his blue parka, one leg hanging off the edge. Sapphire was there, curled up in his hood of his parka, nose buried in the fur around his hood. It was the most adorable thing, I took a quick picture with my mobile before he could wake up. Whilst I felt better than I had yesterday, I felt lethargic and exhausted. Luckily, I wasn’t working today and had made no plans. But I hadn’t expected Sans to remain behind. I figured he’d have gone straight home after dropping me off.

I decided to leave him and Sapphire alone, heading towards the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea and some generic cereal for breakfast. It was a schedule I always had, no matter the day, a cup of tea and cereal for breakfast. Sometimes toast if I felt like getting crumbs on my bed. Waking up properly would always be a struggle if I didn’t have food, sure that my body would slowly crumble into dust if I didn’t eat first thing in the morning before doing anything else that required brain cells. Not caring that the Judge himself was sleeping on my sofa, I sat in front of the sofa and turned the TV on to the news to see if there was anything new happening.

The news covered the kidnapping that occurred yesterday, just like I had expected. It didn’t mention my name, but it did mention a brave and heroic police officer managed to get the Gyftrot out of the hostage situation. It did mention that a skeletal monster came to the aid of a human police officer, but they didn’t stick around for an interview. I felt more thankful for Sans’ reaction time, to get me out of there before the sharks swam too close to the bloodied water. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it, my reaction and blank stare looking towards the TV crew as they demanded answers that I wouldn’t have been able to give. My reputation would have been tarnished. Worse than when Sans had gotten Mettaton to take a picture of us making out, worse than when it had been announced to the whole of Ebbott that Sans had ‘claimed me’, as I remember he put it.

Behind that, he did care. He must’ve. He gained nothing by getting me out of there and back home away from the eyes of the press. He could’ve revelled in it, left me there under the guise of he couldn’t get me out and forcing me to have to answer or suffer under the eyes of the paparazzi. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to handle them. The last thing I needed after being traumatized and almost killed was everyone on Ebbott knowing that I’d gone through that very experience.

I almost flinched when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around my neck and a purr sounded right near my ear. “gud morn’” followed by a loud yawn. “timezit?”

The time was shown on the TV, but a turn of my head showed me that Sans had his eyes closed. He wasn’t sleeping, but dozing off. Struggling in that vague line between sleep and awake, able to hear but not really being fully aware. The fact he felt so comfortable in my presence and in my own house spoke of two possibilities; that he trusted me that much or that he was unconcerned and too powerful to be worried about anything. I was sure the latter was truer than the first, but perhaps I could be surprised.

“Uh, about 10:30.” I answered, and go this reply of a hum. Then, he moved his head, his chin lying on my shoulder as he yawned again. I watched, fascinated as his mouth opened wide, his teeth blunter than I expected, barring his four canines that almost resembled vampire fangs. Inside, a deep abyss of nothing, instead of a tongue or maybe seeing through the bottom of his mouth like nothing would be there. He was a skeleton! Well, a skeleton monster of course. But his tongue wasn’t there. But… he does have one. I knew that for a very fact (the papers back my claim, reputation or no). Magic, that was the only explanation. I still remember how it felt, even after this much time had passed. His tongue, slimy, completely unlike a human tongue entirely in texture or the fact it could bend in ways I hadn’t imagined it could. To think, what else his tongue could possibly be capable of…

I turned away, averting my gaze and hoping I didn’t let slip on my face where my imagination had taken a turn to. I stared at the TV, pretending to see the news as something interesting, as I digested what my mind had just thought about. Honestly, really. It was a horrible idea, a totally horrific idea, a barbaric and thoughtless plan. Whilst I was completely aware of Sans, at the very least, caring about me, it… that was just a bad idea. Sex, even a one-night stand, were never entirely meaningless. Especially when relations are involved, when you feel something for that other participant. Love, hate, detest or care, your feelings would always be magnified when your own bodies were involved. There was always some sort of trust thrust upon when letting another into your body, you could never do it to someone you didn’t trust to hurt you. At least, I knew I couldn’t.

To even consider something with the Judge… I mean, _he_ himself, wasn’t the problem. The very problem lied with the society of Ebbott. The Migosps had only attacked me because of my relation to Sans. There would be many more to come, should this continue. This seemed like a horrible idea. I… perhaps, it seemed better to cut my chase, to cut the rope quickly before the flames catch up to me. I couldn’t jeopardise my chances, to get my mother a better Ebbott.

Yet, an alliance with the Judge would…

But that would be criminal! Whilst not illegal, certainly not saintly, not like my mother would want.

Ugh. I put a hand to the side of my head, a headache soon forming as it dawned on me the situation I was now stuck in. Filled with hard choices, choices that were going to hurt someone, whether myself or the Judge. If things went badly, it may even affect Ebbott itself. I hadn’t imagined it quite like this, trying to change the city for the better. Neither had I known about the Judge before I was transferred. As far as I had been concerned, it wasn’t common knowledge outside of Ebbott.

A knock at the door surprised the both of us, I felt Sans jump. Sapphire began barking at the door, jumping off the sofa and rushing for the door with urgency. Sans watched her go, concerned, then turned to me. “you uh… expecting anyone, babe?”

I shook my head, I had thought my jump made it obvious. I rarely got visitors, not ones that didn’t just barge into my room like Undyne anyway. Putting my bowl down, I got up to my feet, a huge effort on my part when Sans wouldn’t let me go, and made my way to the door. Sans kept back where he could watch.

Tentatively, I opened the door a smidge, glancing to see my visitor on the other side. I saw at first white fur and a purple dress. Opening further, I recognised her. A large monster, taller than I by a good few centimetres, with white fur, big paws and goat horns on the top of her head. She wore a smile on her face that could warm the coldest of hearts, but her smile always got to me more than any other person’s would.

“Mum!?” She hadn’t stepped foot in Ebbott for years! She wasn’t meant to be here, not yet! Not until I had fixed it, brought it back the way it used to be. To repay her, for everything she has done for me. Why was she here?

Before I could ask, she grabbed me, wrapping me up in a tight hug and nuzzled her head into my hair, crushing me to her chest in worry. “Oh! My child! I was so worried when I heard it on the news! My poor child! Oh! Those wicked monsters!” She mothered me further, pulling me back so she could inspect my face. I heard Sans spluttering behind me in the living room, obviously confused and baffled. “You’re doing okay? You didn’t get hurt?” She put me down, hands on her hips as she went into mother mode. Her finger came out, ready to chastise me. “How come you didn’t call me? Oh, you should have told me! I was so worried, I had to come see if you were okay!”

Ah. Guilt shivered down my spine. I had forgotten, of course, that perhaps the news may have made it outside of Ebbott. I hadn’t realised, as I usually only had the local news on whenever I did have the TV on. “Sorry, mum. I didn’t wanna worry you, not when you were stuck outside of Ebbott and never wanted to come back. I was going to call you at the end of this week to catch up.”

“Oh, don’t be so silly! I wouldn’t mind coming to visit you here at all! It’s the people of the city I didn’t enjoy. I don’t have to speak to the people to come visit you, hunni.” She told me, ruffling my hair as she smiled. Any guilt I had instantly melted away as she smiled at me so sweetly, so lovingly. Always so forgiving, so affectionate, just as she always had been. Ebbott had lost a gem when it turned to its life of crime, anything to avoid corrupting her kind soul. “Can I come in, or must we talk in the hallway?” She joked and it was only then that I realised I hadn’t let her into my house yet.

Spluttering, I moved out the way, opening the door wider to let her in. She took in the surroundings of my house, after she was done petting Sapphire who barked and barked on and on until my mother gave in. It was… modest. It felt enough like a home to me.

Then, she stopped when she saw Sans peaking over the chair back, watching for the newcomer. He seemed confused, his head moving from me to my mother, trying to piece together a puzzle that he overcomplicated. “wait… she’s your mum?”

My mother blinked, a couple of times. Then, she turned to me. “Goodness, Frisk! You could’ve let your mother know she was interrupting something!”

Oh! I was quick to remedy the situation, waving my hands out in innocence. “Nothing was happening! He just stayed overnight after he helped me out after the whole kidnapping situation.” I did not want to give my mother the idea that we were dating. Not at all. Even if we maybe were. Or maybe weren’t. Honestly, I didn’t know what _this_ even was. An acquaintance? An alliance, if anything, more like.

Sans put a grin on his face, climbing off the sofa and began making his way over to her. Seeing the look on his face, I realised nothing good could come of it. Before I could stop him or cover his mouth (whatever good that would do) he held out a hand. “I’m sans, sans the skeleton. frisk probably didn’t want to introduce you just yet, we’re still warming up after all.” He gives her a charming wink, his bones clacking together as he did so.

Wait, did he just say we were dating to my mother!?

She giggled a bleating giggle, then grabbed his hand. “Toriel Fanshaw, I’m Frisk’s adoptive mother. My, she never told me she was dating someone so charming!”

I facepalmed. “Mum, please…”

Sans ignored my pleas. “frisk never told me her mother was a monster. she never mentioned she used to be an orphan either. but it explains so much.”

Tori didn’t seem put off by Sans saying it. I’m sure he hadn’t mean the harm, merely an observation made aloud, but she shrugged her shoulders. “Well, she is at the age she doesn’t always need to mention me anymore. Aren’t you, hun?”

“Only in my late twenties.” This was the worst thing. My mother and Sans should not have met. They could double team horrifically in a way I would not recover from.

“aw, I feel like I missed out talking to a fine lady such as yourself.” He even had the gall to pull her hand down and press his teeth against the back of her hand, a faux kiss.

She giggled, her other hand coming to her cheek. “You’re such a charmer! Oh, honey, you should keep him!”

“He’s not a bloody pet!” Although, quite frankly, most pets would behave better than he would. I’m sure, a pet certainly wouldn’t scam against me. “We’re not even together.”

Sans took his hand off Tori’s, putting it to his chest in feigned hurt, like I had wounded his very soul. “babe, how could you? I know you’re not comfortable being open, but this is your mother. I can’t lie to such a lovely lady.” That little fucking shit…!

“Oh, you don’t need to be embarrassed Frisk!” Mum joined in, holding my hands in hers as if to reassure me. “I’m happy for you. Really, I am! You don’t need to hide this. Monsters and humans, it doesn’t matter so long as you are happy.” I wondered if she would say the same thing if she realised just who Sans really was. The fact he left out his surname when talking to Tori spoke volumes.

“I… honestly, wasn’t sure if we were dating yet. We haven’t really…” It was the truth, just moments before this was even brought up I had been thinking to myself about what he meant to me, what we were. Why he was still here.

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. “people like us don’t really need labels, do we babe?” People like us? What did he really imply by saying that? In our line of work?

“Well, as long as you are happy, Frisk. That’s all that matters to me!” Tori put on a sweet smile as she held my hands. I did smile back, still deep down afraid if she were to ever read a single newspaper in Ebbott. Sans had made us pretty public, thank goodness it was kept locally and so my mother hadn’t read the news from a few miles away. “Now, why don’t I make us all tea and you can tell me what happened.”

I smiled, squeezing Tori’s hands together. “Mum, it’s fine, like I’ve said! You’re a guest! This is my house, I’ll make us tea whilst you and Sans play with Sapphire.” As she heard her name, Sapphire perked up on the sofa and began panting. She looked to Tori, as If waiting for her to greet her.

Mum looked to my dog, her eyes suddenly glistening as she noticed Sapphire finally. “Oh my goodness! She’s adorable!” She instantly reached out for Sapphire, who in turn got up onto her feet and dashed towards her arms. She was panting heavily, barking and her tail wagging like mad. She had a stubby tail, and so it looked rather comical, her butt shaking with her tail.

I retreated quickly into the kitchen, popping the kettle on to boil as I tried to listen carefully if Sans was going to ask that all important question. I wondered if he was going to ask her, how I came to be under her care, who my real parents were and everything else that never mattered to me much.

“so uh… toriel?” I heard Tori hum in acknowledgement. “how did ya come to care for frisk? like, don’t she have any… human parents?” It was almost like I could read his curiosity. He didn’t seem to like not knowing things, he didn’t enjoy surprises.

“Oh, it’s not a secret and nothing bar the usual.” Tori answered honestly and plainly. “Frisk’s parents… I have no idea. I was living in Ebbott at the time, I was getting my rubbish ready for the collection that day when I heard the cry of a child. When I went to investigate, she was just there lying in a wrapped blanket near a dustbin pile. There was no note, no indication anyone had been there recently. She could’ve been there for hours. I took her right in, I couldn’t abandon any child.”

“oh, simple as that huh?” It was silent for a while, the only sound in the room was the kettle hissing as it was boiling. “I remember my old man. he wasn’t good, but he did his best. s’all I could as for.” Silence, an awkward one this time. I realised then that Sans was expecting noise of my movement, and so I hurriedly went to grab some mugs enough for three. Apparently satisfied that I wasn’t listening in to their conversation, he carried on. “you know asgore?””

“Pardon?” I heard my mother ask, apparently caught off guard by his question. As was I. Why would he ask such a question? What did he gain from that? And what did he gain by ever asking that?

“asgore dreemurr. the prime minister? you look… you look a lot like him.”

There was a long pause of silence. Enough that I flinched when the kettle clicked as it was done boiling. Feeling rather foolish but also nervous, I poured the water into the mugs getting tea ready as I tried to listen over the sound of pouring bubbling water. “Well, I had, once. It was a long time ago.” This, I knew. She had told me before; she knew Asgore when he was younger, knew him to be a kind and gentle monster despite his outward looks. He seemed huge, gargantuan and threatening, but he was anything but. He was a sensitive soul, one with the ambition to make this a better place for all monsters. So she told me. “Before he had become an MP in politics. I met him when he was in university.” Oh. This. This I didn’t know, but it didn’t surprise me. I knew mum loved to learn and loved to teach, she worked as a teacher for the younger kids.

“wait really?” Sans sounded surprised, like this weren’t something he was expecting. Honestly, neither had I entirely, but I didn’t see what difference or impact it made. So what if she knew Asgore when he was in uni?

“You seem surprised. We became fast friends in university, working for the night service for students. We were basically support for any students who needed to speak to someone, or needed any guidance out of hours. We’d both volunteered, we wanted to help our fellow students the best we could.” It came to no surprise to me, Tori was such a kind-hearted woman, wanting to believe only the best in others. She wasn’t naïve, not by any means, but she wanted to believe that everyone deep down somewhere had a kind heart. “We worked really well together. He told me he always wanted to do more for human and monster kind alike, it was why he was studying psychology. I was doing a teaching degree, we would meet up on the occasion to discuss any plans we would have. That would be when our relationship progressed.”

“huh? relationship? like…?”

“Yes.” I’d just finished putting milk into the teas, getting rid of the tea bags when I heard Tori’s answer. “We were university sweethearts, we became quite the couple in a short amount of time.” I had to work hard to not trip over my own feet. Tori!? And Asgore!? Mum, once upon a time, with the Prime Minister!? Since when!? Just imagining my mother with the Prime Minister. It seemed impossible, like, knowing a celebrity or something. It was also something I didn’t want to imagine. Asgore and my mum. Just… as similar as they did look, something I hadn’t thought of until Sans had pointed it out, it still seemed… weird. Tori had never dated anyone, hadn’t considered romance, too busy focusing on her own goals in life. Too preoccupied with helping the kids she feels she helps raise in school.

“so you’re…” Sans stops, as if he realises he had begun something he hadn’t intended to. There was a chuckle. “that’s kinda sweet. why’d ya break up with him then?”

Tori hums, loudly enough I could hear from the other room. “What gave you the idea that I broke up with him? And not the other way around?” Sans was silent. Tori wasn’t for long. “He didn’t change, we each had our own goals. As much as we did enjoy each other’s’ company, we had our own dreams to chase. Eventually, he went for becoming an MP, I worked as a teaching assistant in Ebbott. When Asgore’s popularity rose, we spent less and less time together, his work swamping him, as did mine. As I got better in my new job, took on more exams to become a full fletched teacher, Asgore then grew into the Prime Minister. Soon after I found Frisk. I knew then, I couldn’t raise a child in such a horrific environment. Ebbott was too dangerous for a child such as Frisk. She would grow cruel; the environment would shape how she would turn out as a child. So, as soon as I could, I transferred to outside of Ebbott. To the next town over, hoping to keep in contact with Asgore. It never happened. We just grew apart.”

It made complete sense. Dots finally connecting into a full coherent picture. I knew for a fact that I was the cause for Tori leaving Ebbott. She’d grown up in Ebbott, having to leave for one reason or another. I had figured it was me, to hear it confirmed… well, I didn’t feel upset. Rather the opposite, rather loved, that my mother would leave her home city for my benefit. An ultimate sacrifice for someone she wasn’t even related to when DNA was concerned. She sacrificed more than just leaving her home, she left her chance for romance, a chance to be happy with another. For the chance to have a daughter. It meant more than I could say. I’d be too selfless to wish it any other way, as I wouldn’t be alive should Tori have never heard my cries. I was too human for that. Sometimes, there were times, I preferred to be a monster than stuck with a human soul, capable of horrible deeds. Monsters, most unable to do a completely evil deed, as it damages their soul in ways it takes longer for humans. A human’s mind would break before their soul does, a monster’s soul was much more sensitive. I was capable of such things, because I was human, because I didn’t have the strength to push away the awful feelings like monsters could.

Like most, anyway. Like my mother.

“you really love frisk. I see it.” If anything, it almost sounded like Sans was envious. Envious that I could be so loved by another that wasn’t him.

“She is my daughter. I would do anything for her. And because she is my daughter, I understand how she feels. I had wondered what had her so nervous when I opened the door. I thought, perhaps, she was still shaken from her ordeal. But that isn’t it.” There was another pause, I drank a bit of my tea out of habit more than a need. “Your reaction. Your name. I may have been living outside of Ebbott, but I can still buy Ebbott magazines. So, what are your intentions with my daughter, Judge?”

And proceeded to spit my tea out of my mouth, coughing and patting my chest as if that would help. Neither Sans nor Tori seemed to pay attention, both too focused on each other. I went to the door, looking over to see what had happened. Tori was still sitting in the same place, turned to face towards Sans. Sans, on the other hand, had stood up, watching Tori with a shocked expression. He genuinely thought he had hidden his identity from my mother, by hiding his surname. Sans wasn’t a common name, though Sans never used his real name, he must have been seen on the cameras or mentioned in the papers somewhere.

Of course, when Mettaton published about us making out. If Tori had gotten a hold of that paper even once, she’d know immediately Sans was the Judge. Although he was only mentioned as the Casino’s owner, or manager if memory served me right, Tori was not a stupid woman. She was rather intelligent, quick minded just like I was. She could become a good police officer if she ever chose to, though it wasn’t something I would wish to see of her. When you became a police officer, you lost a lot of your innocence when you see the worst of people. It weighed you down, slowly but surely, it changed you.

“what makes you say-”

“I’m not an idiot. My daughter was nervous about you telling me your name. I connected the rest of the dots. I thought you were when I first saw you, but I thought it couldn’t be true. That my daughter wouldn’t dare tangle herself with the most dangerous monster in the entirety of Ebbott. Only to be surprised. I’ve no idea what my daughter sees in you, a murderer.” I had never heard my mother’s voice sound so… cold. My mother, whom I didn’t think would have a single bad cell inside her body or soul. “How did my daughter come to look at you as anything but?”

Sans crosses his arms, but he didn’t look angry or pissed off with Tori. Rather, he looked almost… ashamed? Sans, ashamed? Something I never thought would happen! Two words that never seemed compatible with each other. But it seemed worse than just ashamed. It seemed… like he had signed for his fate. He was looking down at the floor, his usual grin faltering slightly, and his brows turned down as if upset. “I uh… I often wonder that myself.” He looks back up to Tori, looking the same as he did before, just as upset or disappointed in himself. “gotta be honest, I dunno. But… I know one thing; she and I have a similar goal. I just want ebbott to be a safe place for me and my bro. And now, for her too.”

Tori blinked, turning fully to face Sans now. It was then, that I realised what was happening. And I was powerless to stop it, my curiosity at her reaction taking hold of me paralysing me to watch in horror as the events unfolded before me. “What are you talking about? Similar goals?”

“are ya blind? ya daughter’s become a cop for you. to get ebbott back to the way it was, before all the shit people and monsters ruined it. ya left your home to care for her, to raise her as the woman she is today. she’s repaying that. you saved her life, gave her a life, now she’s getting yours back.”

And her face. Her face of realisation, to realise what my goal was in the end, to see her figure out what I had been trying to keep from her. I had hoped, maybe, stupidly, Ebbott would return to the way it was and she would move of her own volition. But no. I didn’t feel angry for Sans telling her something I never had the heart nor the courage to tell her. And Sans clearly knew, if he told her, there would be no going back. I would be committed, nothing to go back on, if she knew. Even if she didn’t, I wasn’t going to turn my back on my mother’s dreams. Not for something as simple as danger. The event yesterday hadn’t changed my mind one little bit, no matter how much Sans thought so.

Tori looked horrified at first, then resigned, she understood and realised. But, she seemed to accept it. She had a smile on her face, though not a sad or happy one. One that was just there. “Of course. Frisk learnt from me, but her determination makes her more so. She’s so kind-hearted, with more love than I thought was ever capable. She’s so unforgiving, it’s how she’s able to look past your actions. She can see the good in everyone, if there lies a speck of it in anyone’s heart.” Tori tilted her head, looking at Sans again. “Deep down, you care. Your brother, maybe other members of your family, you care deeply, to put your life and your own reputation on the line. To murder for them, to protect them at any costs. It’s… a very drastic version, but Frisk understands it as something she could see herself… perhaps, sympathising with.”

This was when I thought it were a good time, to let them know that I’d been listening. Taking a couple of mugs of tea, I coughed as I entered the room. Both goat and skeleton turned around, startled, having forgotten I had been here the entire time. Regardless of the fact that this was _my_ house.

I smiled nervously. “Um, teas are here. Sorry, I got uh… distracted.”

Sans stayed still, then, he rubbed the back of his head whilst looking to the side away. He was ashamed, caught. He was feeling nervous about my reaction, like he was expecting me to blow up on him.

My mother seemed to pick up on the hint, as she smiled and stood up. “Ah, sorry Frisk. It was lovely to come see you’re alright, but I can see… you two have a lot to talk about. Ah! But before I go! I insist you must eat my snail pie!” And out of nowhere, like magic, she pulls out a full on sized snail pie.

“Oh! Mother, please!” Although, snail pie was a favourite of mine, I didn’t want to horrify Sans with that knowledge of my weird taste in food.

“I know how it always makes you feel better after a bad day!” She didn’t take no for an answer, putting the pie on the table and moving to give me a hug. After putting the cups of tea on the same table too. She gave me a long hug, kissing my forehead as she pulled away. “Now, talk to Sans, be kind. I’ll go to the shops for two or so hours, have a cup of tea at a café and then I’ll return. How about that?”

I smiled. “Thanks mum.” She was only the best, of course. With a pat on my shoulder, she turned and left the house. I sat down on the sofa, looking to Sans. He was looking away, sweat dripping from his skull. I could hear his bones rattling from his nervousness. He had no idea what I was about to say or do. The poor thing.

I coughed. He flinched. Wow. “Sans, I’m not angry at you. Trust me.” He looked to me from the corner or his eye sockets, dumbfounded. It did seem rather stupid, I would just forgive him that quickly for trying to pry into my life. But there were worse ways he could go about it. And there was nothing much to hide, I simply didn’t deem it important enough for him to know. “I didn’t tell you because you never asked, not because it was a secret. Though, I don’t like people knowing my mother. It makes her a target otherwise but… I trust you not to take advantage of that.”

Sans smirked. “well, thanks babe. not sure it’s a smart move, but I appreciate it.” His shoulders slump in a more relaxed state. He felt calmer, I wasn’t going to blow up on him and I’d come to accept it. He was too used to violence, too used to shouting that someone being honestly nice and open about their thoughts was a rare occurrence.

“Not that I’m gonna let you walk out Scott free of course!” I tell him with a huge grin on my face. He was always the fair type, at least fair in these circumstances. I’m sure he wouldn’t hold anything against me if I were to ask for something in return. A little something. Knowledge. On him. “An eye for an eye, I say. Since you pried into my business without asking, surely you can repay by telling me yours. What of your family? I don’t remember hearing about your parents whatsoever. Only of Papyrus. What happened to yours?”

Sans blinked, the smile on his face disappearing. For a second, a haunted look was on his face, one that had me faltering. I… hadn’t been expecting it, caught off guard. “Ah, eh, maybe not then sorry.” I back peddled, realising maybe this was an awful and stupid idea. And a horrible thing to do.

But, Sans put a hand on mine, stopping me. “no no, it’s… I can tell ya. but… nobody else knows. And ya can’t tell a soul, living or dead, gottit?” And he looked deadly serious as he told me this. As he told me, preparing me for the worst of what he was to say. “I’ll tell ya, I only know my dad. I don’t know my mum, never have. musta died when I was still a baby bones. dunno. don’t care. but okay. everything I tell ya is the truth, everything I say is going by my events, what I saw happen. don’t laugh at me, okay?” He seemed deadly serious, something I hadn’t seen on him in a while. I nodded my head, but prepared myself I knew, when those words left his body, that this wasn’t going to be a good or happy story. This would change how I would see this lovable skeleton for a long time to come.

Sans sighed, taking a deep breath. “okay. it started with mount ebbott.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER OMFG. I'm the worst. I didn't enjoy writing most of this, I'm gonna be honest. But, somewhere later, I began to enjoy it again. I got a thing going finally, got a writing mojo back after the holidays after a while of staring at a screen :P I do apologise if it sucks. I kinda am tired all the time haha hope your Christmases was as good as mine! (minus work of course).
> 
> Now, I got a few things; this story is gonna be ending soon! The reason; I got no more ideas. I've got plans for two more chapters and that's probably that! Maybe an epilogue. Otherwise, I plan to end it max 3 chapters. If you have other ideas, be my guest and let me know! Otherwise, this story will end in three chapters. I plan to write a sex scene (this story is kinda begging for one) and because lately I've been practising, I find writing smut a lot more enjoyable! I love writing it :P I'm happy to write it. If it's a problem (like you're underaged) let me know! THIS WILL RESULT THE STORY CHANGING FROM M TO E. 
> 
> Lastly, I'm thinking of making a twitter. Like, a twitter so people can follow me as I post live writing updates, such as how I'm doing on each fanfiction and my own writing over on furaffinity. I'm doing a lot of my own writing at the same time as I'm doing fanfics. I enjoy writing my own a bit more lately, but depends on my mood in all honesty. Follow me on Furaffinity if you wanna see my own writing; ages +18 only! Let me know if you think a twitter and live updates is a good idea or something people might want c: ^^ 
> 
> There! Phew. Hope you guys had a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
> 
> ~Blackie

**Author's Note:**

> Dun dun DUUUUUUUN. Well, I felt it was a good place to end it tbh :P I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll add a couple of chapters or three or so to finish this off, it won't be too long with any hope! I don't plan on it anyway! I don't have enough time to write another long story haha :P 
> 
> Let me know what you think! <3 I read all the comments even if I am too busy to reply, I appreciate every single one ^^ Kudos and whatever gives me fuel~ Hope you all enjoyed! More coming soon!
> 
> Have a nice day~!
> 
> ~Blackie


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